Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Faculty of Language, Literature and Humanities - Alexander von Humboldt Professorship

Void in Aristotle’s Physics and the Greek Philosophical Tradition

The purpose of my project is to write a thorough and exhaustive monograph on Aristotle’s treatment of void. I intend to examine in depth his rebuttal of void in Physics IV 6–9 and analyze why his theory was not considered successful by later commentators. Furthermore, as Aristotle systematizes his predecessors’ views in his scrutiny of void, I shall investigate the theories of void proposed by other ancient philosophers, particularly the Atomists and Pythagoreans.