The Continuous and the Discrete: Ancient Physical Theories From a Contemporary Perspective

Oxford, England: Oxford University Press (1992)
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Abstract

This book presents a detailed analysis of three ancient models of spatial magnitude, time, and local motion. The Aristotelian model is presented as an application of the ancient, geometrically orthodox conception of extension to the physical world. The other two models, which represent departures from mathematical orthodoxy, are a "quantum" model of spatial magnitude, and a Stoic model, according to which limit entities such as points, edges, and surfaces do not exist in (physical) reality. The book is unique in its discussion of these ancient models within the context of later philosophical, scientific, and mathematical developments.

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Chapters

Aristotle on Time and Locomotion: Physics and Metaphysics

This chapter further explores various metaphysical features of Aristotle's discussion of time and local motion, as well as the relation between these metaphysical features and the formal, structural properties of continuous magnitudes. In Aristotle's view, a stretch of time is not formed b... see more

Introduction to Part I

Part I of this study closely examines both Aristotle's analysis of the physical properties of spatial magnitude, time, and locomotion, and the metaphysical view underlying this analysis. At the heart of Aristotle's metaphysical view is a conception of ‘happening’ — ‘motion’ or process — as... see more

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Citations of this work

Infinitesimal Gunk.Lu Chen - 2020 - Journal of Philosophical Logic 49 (5):981-1004.
Aristotelian finitism.Tamer Nawar - 2015 - Synthese 192 (8):2345-2360.
Naturalism in mathematics and the authority of philosophy.Alexander Paseau - 2005 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 56 (2):377-396.

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