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Full Idea
It is clearly necessary that the number of substances eternal in their nature and intrinsically unmovable (and without magnitude) should equal that of the movements of the stars.
Gist of Idea
There are as many eternal unmovable substances as there are movements of the stars
Source
Aristotle (Metaphysics [c.324 BCE], 1073a34)
Book Ref
Aristotle: 'Metaphysics', ed/tr. Lawson-Tancred,Hugh [Penguin 1998], p.377
A Reaction
There are many unmoved movers! This is an important corrective to those who think Aristotle was endorsing one great Unmoved Mover, and thus founding monotheism. He was agreeing with Plato's account in 'The Laws'.
Related Idea
Idea 21265 The heavens must be full of gods, controlling nature either externally or from within [Plato]
| 1742 | Thales said the gods know our wrong thoughts as well as our evil actions [Thales, by Diog. Laertius] |
| 15659 | Purifying yourself with blood is as crazy as using mud to wash off mud [Heraclitus] |
| 1522 | It is wretched not to want to think clearly about the gods [Empedocles] |
| 12097 | There are as many eternal unmovable substances as there are movements of the stars [Aristotle] |
| 22729 | The concepts of gods arose from observing the soul, and the cosmos [Aristotle, by Sext.Empiricus] |
| 9287 | Bruno said that ancient Egyptian magic was the true religion [Bruno, by Yates] |
| 14827 | The Greeks saw the gods not as their masters, but as idealised versions of themselves [Nietzsche] |
| 7208 | Paganism is a form of thanking and affirming life? [Nietzsche] |
| 14864 | The Greeks lack a normative theology: each person has their own poetic view of things [Nietzsche] |
| 7348 | The Jews sharply distinguish human and divine, but the Greeks pull them closer together [Johnson,P] |
| 20666 | Most polytheist recognise one supreme power or law, behind the various gods [Harari] |
| 20667 | Polytheism is open-minded, and rarely persecutes opponents [Harari] |
| 20665 | Mythologies are usual contracts with the gods, exchanging devotion for control of nature [Harari] |