Page - 115 - in The Priority of Locomotion in Aristotle’s Physics

5. All changes depend on the first locomotion, but not vice versa 5.1 Overview Apart from some remarks about the different kinds of priority that I will focus on later in this chapter, the third argument follows directly after the second one and is presented in the following passage: ὥστ᾽ ἐπεὶ κίνησιν μὲν ἀναγκαῖον εἶναι συνεχῶς, εἴη δ᾽ ἂν συνεχῶς ἢ συνεχὴς οὖσα ἢ ἐφεξῆς, μᾶλλον δ᾽ ἡ συνεχής, καὶ βέλτιον συνεχῆ ἢ ἐφεξῆς εἶναι, τὸ δὲ βέλτιον ἀεὶ ὑπολαμβάνομεν ἐν τῇ φύσει ὑπάρχειν, ἂν ᾖ δυνατόν, δυνατὸν δὲ συνεχῆ εἶναι (δειχθήσεται δ᾽ ὕστερον· νῦν δὲ τοῦτο ὑποκείσθω), καὶ ταύτην οὐδεμίαν ἄλλην οἷόν τε εἶναι ἀλλ᾽ ἢ φοράν, ἀνάγκη τὴν φορὰν εἶναι πρώτην. οὐδεμία γὰρ ἀνάγκη οὔτε αὔξεσθαι οὔτε ἀλλοιοῦσθαι τὸ φερόμενον, οὐδὲ δὴ γίγνεσθαι ἢ φθείρεσθαι· τού- των δὲ οὐδεμίαν ἐνδέχεται τῆς συνεχοῦς μὴ οὔσης, ἣν κινεῖ τὸ πρῶτον κινοῦν. (260b19–29) Therefore, as change must exist continuously, and it would exist continu- ously either by being continuous, or [by being] a succession of changes, but in a fuller way the continuous one, that is, it is better to be continu- ous than to be in succession, and we presuppose that the better is always the case in nature, if it is possible, and [since] it is possible that it is con- tinuous—this will be shown later, but let us just suppose it for now, and that this can be no other [change] than locomotion—locomotion must be primary. For neither is there necessity for that which undergoes loco- motion to undergo growth, nor alteration, nor generation or corruption. But of these [other changes], none may [be] if the continuous one is not, which the first mover is causing. The third argument basically shows that locomotion has ontological priority over the other kinds of change, since only a change in place in principle may be one, continuous, and eternal and thus is the only possible candidate for being the one eternal change which is directly caused by the first unmoved mover. This means that change in place in virtue of being this only candidate is necessary for the occurrence of any of the other three ISBN Print: 9783525253069 — ISBN E-Book: 9783647253060 © 2014, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen