Aristotle and the Eleatic One (Oxford Aristotle Studies Series)

"In this book Timothy Clarke examines Aristotle's response to Eleatic monism, the theory of Parmenides of Elea and his followers that reality is 'one'. Clarke argues that Aristotle interprets the Eleatics as thoroughgoing monists, for whom the pluralistic, changing world of the senses is a mere illusion. Understood in this way, the Eleatic theory constitutes a radical challenge to the possibility of natural philosophy. Aristotle discusses the Eleatics in several works, including De Caelo, De Generatione et Corruptione, and the Metaphysics. But his most extensive treatment of their monism comes at the beginning of the Physics, where he criticizes them for overlooking the fact that 'being is said in many ways' - in other words, that there are many ways of being. Through a careful analysis of this and other criticisms, Clarke explains how Aristotle's engagement with the Eleatics prepares the ground for his own theory of the principles of nature. Aristotle is commonly thought to be an unreliable interpreter of his Presocratic predecessors ; in contrast, this book argues that his critique can shed valuable light on the motivation of the Eleatic theory and its influence on the later philosophical tradition."--Page 4 de la couverture Cover 1 Aristotle and the Eleatic One 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Acknowledgements 12 Abbreviations 14 Introduction 16 1: Eleaticism and the Philosophy of Nature 25 1.1 Introduction 25 1.2 The Principles of Natural Beings 25 1.3 The Status of the Critique of the Eleatics 27 1.4 Why Is There a Discussion of the Eleatics at the Beginning of the Physics? 32 2: The Refutation of Eleatic Monism 34 2.1 Introduction 34 2.2 The First Sequence of Criticisms: Ways of Being 34 2.2.1 Being Is Said in Many Ways 35 2.2.2 The Argument’s Targets 37 2.2.3 The Consequences of Interdependence 39 2.2.4 Begging the Question 42 2.2.5 Against Melissus’ Unlimited One 44 2.3 The Second Sequence of Criticisms: Ways of Being One 46 2.3.1 Continuity 48 2.3.2 The Part and the Whole 50 2.3.3 Indivisibility 52 2.3.4 One in Account 54 2.4 Are Aristotle’s Criticisms Fair? 56 3: Problems of One and Many 63 3.1 Introduction 63 3.2 The Predication Problem 65 3.3 The Whole–Parts Problem 69 3.4 The Point of the Excursus 72 4: Criticisms of Melissus’ Argument 73 4.1 Introduction 73 4.2 Overview of Melissus’ Argument for Monism 74 4.3 A Logical Fallacy? 77 4.4 Becoming without a Beginning 78 4.5 The Possibility of Motion 83 4.6 The Possibility of Alteration 85 4.7 One in Form 85 4.8 Which Criticisms Also Apply to Parmenides? 88 5: Parmenides’ Argument for Monism 91 5.1 Introduction 91 5.2 Aristotle and the Parmenidean One 92 5.3 The Solution to Parmenides’ Argument 98 5.3.1 The First Objection: Falsehood 98 5.3.2 The Second Objection: Inconclusiveness 101 5.4 An Argument for Continuity 103 5.4.1 The Pervasiveness of Being 104 5.4.2 From Pervasiveness to Continuity 105 5.5 An Argument for Uniformity 107 5.6 Aristotle’s Interpretation of Parmenides’ Argument 109 5.7 Further Support: De Generatione et Corruptione 1.8 112 5.8 The Appeal of Aristotle’s Interpretation 116 6: Resisting Parmenides’ Argument 118 6.1 Introduction 118 6.2 Parmenides’ Conception of Being 118 6.3 Why Parmenides Fails to Establish Continuity 119 6.4 Accidental Predication and Essential Difference 124 6.4.1 The Property and Its Recipient 125 6.4.2 Difference in Being versus Separation 128 6.4.3 Is Being an Accident? 129 6.4.4 Parmenides’ Oversight 130 6.5 Parmenides Needs Some Extra Assumptions 131 6.5.1 The Language of Essential Predication 131 6.5.2 Being as an Essential Property 133 6.5.3 Oneness as an Essential Property 136 6.5.4 A Supplementary Argument 137 6.6 First Additional Problem: Other Accidental Properties 140 6.7 Second Additional Problem: Spatial Extension 145 6.8 Third Additional Problem: Other Essential Properties 148 6.8.1 The Language of Essential Predication, Again 149 6.8.2 The Argument from Definitional Divisibility 150 6.8.3 Anti-Parmenidean Implications 155 6.8.4 Types of Division 157 6.9 Summary of Aristotle’s Critique 158 7: On Giving in to the Eleatics 161 7.1 Introduction 161 7.2 The Anonymous Respondents 162 7.2.1 Plato and Parmenides 163 7.2.2 Parmenides’ Argument and the Atomists’ Introduction of Void 166 7.3 The Dichotomy 168 7.4 Why the Atomists Concede Too Much 176 7.5 The Birth of Atomism 180 8: Did Aristotle Change His Mind about Parmenides? 182 8.1 Introduction 182 8.2 The Eleatics in Metaphysics A 5 186 8.3 Being Compelled to Follow the Appearances 192 8.4 One in One Way, Many in Another? 193 8.5 Praise for Parmenides’ Dualism 198 8.6 Other References to the Doxa 200 8.7 Aristotle’s Interpretation of the Two Parts of the Poem 202 Conclusion 204 Appendix: Text and Translation of Physics 1.2–3 209 Physics 1.2 209 Physics 1.3 215 Bibliography 222 Index Locorum 230 General Index 237 "In this book Timothy Clarke examines Aristotle's response to Eleatic monism, the theory of Parmenides of Elea and his followers that reality is 'one'. Clarke argues that Aristotle interprets the Eleatics as thoroughgoing monists, for whom the pluralistic, changing world of the senses is a mere illusion. Understood in this way, the Eleatic theory constitutes a radical challenge to the possibility of natural philosophy. Aristotle discusses the Eleatics in several works, including De Caelo, De Generatione et Corruptione, and the Metaphysics. But his most extensive treatment of their monism comes at the beginning of the Physics, where he criticizes them for overlooking the fact that 'being is said in many ways' - in other words, that there are many ways of being. Through a careful analysis of this and other criticisms, Clarke explains how Aristotle's engagement with the Eleatics prepares the ground for his own theory of the principles of nature. Aristotle is commonly thought to be an unreliable interpreter of his Presocratic predecessors; in contrast, this book argues that his critique can shed valuable light on the motivation of the Eleatic theory and its influence on the later philosophical tradition."--Back cover In the first book-length study of Aristotle's engagement with Eleatic monism, Timothy Clarke offers a detailed reconstruction and appraisal of Aristotle's criticisms of Eleatic monism, and uses these criticisms to work out how he understood the theory and the arguments given in its defence.