The Order of Nature in Aristotle's Physics: Place and the Elements

by Helen S. Lang

Overview

This book enters into the point of view of the ancient world in order to explain how they saw the world, and to show what arguments were used by Aristotle to support this view. Lang demonstrates a new method for reading the texts of Aristotle by revealing a continuous line of argument running from the Physics to De Caelo, and analyzes a group of arguments that are almost always treated in isolation from one another to reveal their elegance and coherence. She establishes the case that we must rethink our approach to Aristotle's physical science and Aristotelian texts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521624534
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	10/28/1998
Pages:	338
Product dimensions:	6.26(w) x 9.29(h) x 1.06(d)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements; Abbreviations; Part I. Place: 1. Aristotle's physics and the problem of nature; 2. Nature and motion; 3. Place; 4. Void; Part II. The Elements: 5. Inclination: an ability to be moved; 6. Inclination as heaviness and lightness; 7. Inclination: the natures and activities of the elements; Part III. Nature As a Cause of Order: 8. The order of nature in Aristotle's physics; Bibliography of works cited; Subject and name index; Index of Aristotelian texts.

Editorial Reviews

"...this book will be of interest to scholars. It will also interest those seeking to understand Aristotle's physics on its own terms." Norman O. Dahl, Religious Studies Review

From the Publisher