Concept

Aristotelian physics

Overview

Aristotelian physics is the form of natural philosophy described in the works of the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BC). In his work Physics, Aristotle intended to establish general principles of change that govern all natural bodies, both living and inanimate, celestial and terrestrial – including all motion (change with respect to place), quantitative change (change with respect to size or number), qualitative change, and substantial change ("coming to be" [coming into existence, 'generation'] or "passing away" [no longer existing, 'corruption']). To Aristotle, 'physics' was a broad field including subjects which would now be called the philosophy of mind, sensory experience, memory, anatomy and biology. It constitutes the foundation of the thought underlying many of his works.

Key concepts of Aristotelian physics include the structuring of the cosmos into concentric spheres, with the Earth at the centre and celestial spheres around it. The terrestrial sphere was made of four elements, namely earth, air, fire, and water, subject to change and decay. The celestial spheres were made of a fifth element, an unchangeable aether. Objects made of these elements have natural motions: those of earth and water tend to fall; those of air and fire, to rise. The speed of such motion depends on their weights and the density of the medium. Aristotle argued that a vacuum could not exist as speeds would become infinite.

Aristotle described four causes or explanations of change as seen on earth: the material, formal, efficient, and final causes of things. As regards living things, Aristotle's biology relied on observation of what he considered to be ‘natural kinds’, both those he considered basic and the groups to which he considered these belonged. He did not conduct experiments in the modern sense, but relied on amassing data, observational procedures such as dissection, and making hypotheses about relationships between measurable quantities such as body size and lifespan.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).

Possible passages

Found by search and not yet checked by a person; they may only mention the idea in passing.

After this examination we will find that nothing remains in the idea of body, except that it is something extended in length, breadth, and depth; and this something is comprised in our idea of space, not only of that which is full of body, but even of what is called void space.
René Descartes, Selections from the Principles of Philosophy
States what Aristotelian physics is; the author is tied to Aristotelian physics in the knowledge graph.
Read the chapter · Open in the reader
The doctrines concerning those two subjects were considered as making two distinct sciences. What are called metaphysics, or pneumatics, were set in opposition to physics, and were cultivated not only as the more sublime, but, for the purposes of a particular profession, as the more useful science of the two. The proper subject of experiment and observation, a subject in which a careful attention is capable of…
Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
States what Aristotelian physics is.
Read the chapter · Open in the reader
Four categories are subject to change:— (a.) Substance.—Changes which affect the substance of a thing are called genesis and destruction. (b.) Quantity.—Changes in reference to quantity are increase and decrease. (c.) Quality.—Changes in the qualities of things are transformations. (d.) Place.—Change of place is called motion. The term “motion” is properly applied to change of place, but is also used in a general…
Moses Maimonides, The guide for the perplexed
States what Aristotelian physics is.
Read the chapter · Open in the reader

Aristotelian physics

Overview

Possible passages

Philosophers who discussed Aristotelian physics

Related ideas

Place in the tradition