Aristotle's fundamental investigation of nature itself. The Physics examines motion, change, causation, place, time, and the infinite — the conceptual foundations on which all natural science rests. Eight books that define what it means to explain anything in the natural world.
Start ReadingThe principles of natural science. Aristotle establishes that nature is a domain of change, identifies the basic principles (matter, form, and privation), and critiques his predecessors' accounts of the fundamental constituents of reality.
Nature, luck, and spontaneity. Aristotle defines nature as an internal principle of change, distinguishes natural from artificial objects, and examines the role of chance and luck in the natural world.
Motion and the infinite. Aristotle defines motion as the actualisation of potentiality and argues that no actual infinite magnitude can exist, though the infinite exists potentially in the divisibility of magnitudes and the succession of numbers.
Place, void, and time. Aristotle defines place as the innermost boundary of the containing body, argues against the existence of void, and gives his famous analysis of time as the number of motion with respect to before and after.
The classification of change. Aristotle distinguishes the different types of change — generation, destruction, alteration, growth, and locomotion — and analyses the conditions under which each occurs.
Continuity, divisibility, and Zeno's paradoxes. Aristotle argues that anything continuous is infinitely divisible, refutes Zeno's arguments against motion, and establishes that no finite magnitude can be traversed in infinite time or vice versa.
The conditions and comparability of change. Aristotle examines what is required for change to occur, whether different types of change can be compared, and the nature of contrariety in change.
Eternal motion and the unmoved mover. Aristotle argues that motion must be eternal, that there must be a first cause of motion that is itself unmoved, and that this unmoved mover produces continuous circular motion — the philosophical foundation for his theology.