Page - 129 - in The Priority of Locomotion in Aristotle’s Physics

in the course of the discussion that starts in the penultimate paragraph of Phys. VIII 7 and is continued throughout the whole of Phys. VIII 8.41 As I have already said, all this is part of the task that was set at the beginning of chapter 7 and discussing the two points will provide an answer to two of the three questions raised there; but as we are now beginning to see, in addition this will also contribute something to answering the third ques- tion, that is, which kind of change is the primary one—for after all the argu- ment for locomotion’s primacy that I am discussing at the moment obviously makes essential use of the answers to the first two questions.42 Thus the overall structure of this passage is as follows: (1) Change exists continuously, i.e. is eternal. (Phys. VIII 1) (2) Change is eternal, either by (a) there being one single eternal change, or (b) a number of changes in succession. (analytical truth) (3) But in the case of alternative (a)—a single and eternal change— change exists more continuously, and this is better. (from Phys. VIII 6) (4) What is better is the case in nature, if possible. (general principle) (5) It is possible that there is one single change that is eternal. (Phys. VIII 7&8) (6) Only locomotion can be this one single and eternal change. (Phys. VIII 7&8) (7) Therefore, locomotion is primary. As we can see, the third argument for the priority of locomotion relies essentially on whether the arguments presented for premises (5) and (6) are successful. For this reason I will now have a look at parts of Phys. VIII 7 and 8 in order to gain a basic understanding of Aristotle’s reasons for mak- ing the claim that indeed there is a single eternal change and that this change can only be a locomotion, insofar as this is of relevance to my inquiry. As I said before, this examination, will at the same time allow us to continue the discussion that was interrupted by this section, since its remaining part falls together with examining the arguments for premises (5) and (6) as they are stated in 7 and 8 of Physics Book VIII. Therefore, I will now present Aristotle’s basic reasons for claiming that a single change that is one and eternal can exist and that this can only be locomotion, and brackets. Simplicius, In Phys. 8, 1269, 34–35, also reads this passage in this way, as he states that the assumptions are taken as being established (ὑποκείμενα τέως εἴληπται). 41 See Phys. VIII 7, 261a27-VIII 8, 265a12. 42 That answering the first two questions obviously is necessary for answering the third question, i.e. the one regarding the primary kind of change, also shows that these three ques- tions, as I argued in the second chapter, are closely connected to each other and must not be examined in isolation from each other (see section 2.4.3). The unity of the eternal change 129 ISBN Print: 9783525253069 — ISBN E-Book: 9783647253060 © 2014, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen