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The Astronomical System of Aristotle
An Interpretation
Series: - History of Science and Medicine Library, Volume: 58
This book shows that a rigorous study of Aristotleâs Metaphysics is not simply an exercise in the history of astronomy, but constitutes a broad inquiry into our germinal ideas about speed, motion, and the spherical nature of celestial entities, as well as the relation between theology and gnoseology. Many have heard of Aristotleâs First Unmoved Mover, the one that moves all things without being moved. Very few, however, have managed to capture the ultimate meaning of that entity. One of the goals of this book is to explore why the existence of such a First Unmoved Mover is necessary, but the journey to this end allows us to understand why Aristotle maintained that there are a total of 55 Unmoved Movers, not just one. The key is Aristotelian astronomy, little studied so far in comparison with other aspects of his thought. In this solid piece of research and free philosophical speculation that Botteri & Casazza offer us, the authorsâ gaze raised to the skyâby means of the naked-eye analysis of celestial movementsâleads to the reconstruction of Aristotleâs astronomical system, key to understanding his cosmology, his physics, and even his metaphysics.
This book is a revised English translation from the original Spanish publication El sistema astronómico de Aristoteles: Una interpretación, published by Ediciones Biblioteca Nacional, Buenos Aires, 2015.
This book is a revised English translation from the original Spanish publication El sistema astronómico de Aristoteles: Una interpretación, published by Ediciones Biblioteca Nacional, Buenos Aires, 2015.
Roberto Casazza, MA, PhD (1968) is professor of Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy at Universidad Nacional de Rosario (Argentina). He has published articles on several authors and themes of Ancient, Medieval, and Renaissance Medicine, Philosophy and Cosmology.
Gerardo Botteri, BPhys, BPsy, MBA (1961) is professor of Physics at the Universidad Tecnológica Nacional (San Nicolás de los Arroyos) and assistant professor of Philosophy at the Faculty of Psychology of the Universidad Nacional de Rosario. He has been teaching Theoretical Physics over three decades, and conducted research on several topics on the history of Physics and Astronomy.
Gerardo Botteri, BPhys, BPsy, MBA (1961) is professor of Physics at the Universidad Tecnológica Nacional (San Nicolás de los Arroyos) and assistant professor of Philosophy at the Faculty of Psychology of the Universidad Nacional de Rosario. He has been teaching Theoretical Physics over three decades, and conducted research on several topics on the history of Physics and Astronomy.
Acknowledgements for this Translated Edition
Acknowledgements to the Original Edition
Abbreviations
Prologue, by Horacio Gonzalez
Introduction
1. The Spherical, Limited, and Hierarchical Cosmology of Aristotle
2. The Spherical Whole in Pre-Socratic Philosophy
3. The Platonic Mandate: Reducing Celestial Phenomena to Circular Motions
4. Eudoxus and Callippus: Planetary Models
â4.1 The Heavens and the Compass
â4.2 Planetary Trajectories
5. Aristotleâs Astronomical System
â5.1 The Prime Mover and Unmoved Movers
â5.2 Unmoved Movers and Celestial Spheres
â5.3 Kinematics and Dynamics
â5.4 The Integration of Planetary Spheres
â5.5 The First Heaven and Wandering Stars
â5.6 Two Celestial Systems
6. Metaphysics, ï, 8 and the Genetic Interpretation
7. Aristotleâs Meta-Astral Theology
8. The Animation of Celestial Bodies
9. Aristotleâs System in Perspective
Appendices
âText Fragments
âEudoxusâs System: Additional Resources
âThe Grupo de Estudio del Cielo
Sources
Bibliography
Subject index
Author index
Acknowledgements to the Original Edition
Abbreviations
Prologue, by Horacio Gonzalez
Introduction
1. The Spherical, Limited, and Hierarchical Cosmology of Aristotle
2. The Spherical Whole in Pre-Socratic Philosophy
3. The Platonic Mandate: Reducing Celestial Phenomena to Circular Motions
4. Eudoxus and Callippus: Planetary Models
â4.1 The Heavens and the Compass
â4.2 Planetary Trajectories
5. Aristotleâs Astronomical System
â5.1 The Prime Mover and Unmoved Movers
â5.2 Unmoved Movers and Celestial Spheres
â5.3 Kinematics and Dynamics
â5.4 The Integration of Planetary Spheres
â5.5 The First Heaven and Wandering Stars
â5.6 Two Celestial Systems
6. Metaphysics, ï, 8 and the Genetic Interpretation
7. Aristotleâs Meta-Astral Theology
8. The Animation of Celestial Bodies
9. Aristotleâs System in Perspective
Appendices
âText Fragments
âEudoxusâs System: Additional Resources
âThe Grupo de Estudio del Cielo
Sources
Bibliography
Subject index
Author index
The Astronomic System of Aristotle would attract scholars of Aristotle's thought as well as undergraduate students. It will also be useful for historians of science, because it pays attention to astronomical and cosmological themes, at the dawn of the scientific tradition.