more on this theme | more from this thinker
Full Idea
It is absurd to explain place by the void, as though this latter were not itself some kind of place.
Gist of Idea
Void is a kind of place, so it can't explain place
Source
Aristotle (On the Heavens [c.336 BCE], 309b24)
Book Ref
Democritus: 'Early Greek Phil VII: Democritus', ed/tr. Laks,A/Most,G [Harvard Loeb 2016], p.395
A Reaction
Presumably this is aimed at Democritus.
| 16102 | Aether moves in circles and is imperishable; the four elements perish, and move in straight lines [Aristotle, by Gill,ML] |
| 394 | An unworn sandal is in vain, but nothing in nature is in vain [Aristotle] |
| 395 | It seems possible that there exists a limited number of other worlds apart from this one [Aristotle] |
| 396 | There has to be some goal, and not just movement to infinity [Aristotle] |
| 1498 | Everyone agrees that the world had a beginning, but thinkers disagree over whether it will end [Aristotle] |
| 398 | Each thing that has a function is for the sake of that function [Aristotle] |
| 399 | If the more you raise some earth the faster it moves, why does the whole earth not move? [Aristotle] |
| 19740 | A very hungry man cannot choose between equidistant piles of food [Aristotle] |
| 402 | The Earth must be spherical, because it casts a convex shadow on the moon [Aristotle] |
| 403 | The earth must be round and of limited size, because moving north or south makes different stars visible [Aristotle] |
| 17463 | An element is what bodies are analysed into, and won't itself divide into something else [Aristotle] |
| 20918 | Void is a kind of place, so it can't explain place [Aristotle] |