Aristotle’s descriptions of place are among the more neglected areas of his work (especially since we now take modern conceptions of space so much for granted), and yet topos was a central term in metaphysics for centuries, into the Hellenistic and Byzantine periods and then decisively among Jewish, Islamic and Christian thinkers, until it collapsed under the weight of Galileo’s observations and Newton’s physics.
Yet Aristotle’s physics, in which topos can be argued to stand at the centre, already owes much to Aristotle’s predecessors. Discussion of topos occurs in the testimonia to Anaximander and Parmenides, and more explicitly in Xenophanes, and the reports and fragmentary remains of Zeno, Empedocles and others. There is a haunting connection between Parmenides’ account of being and Aristotle’s understanding of place which has never been adequately explored.
Do place and space stand opposed to each other? Are they merely rival accounts – if so, of what? Does one ground the other, or does each stand in relation to the other on a more originary ground – if so how is that to be understood?
The project aims to initiate a longer-term discussion among a number of scholars – philologists, philosophers, historians, geographers and others – to examine the breadth and importance of Aristotle’s understanding of place. In 1998 Helen Lang published a powerful and scholarly work, The Order of Nature in Aristotle’s Physics: Place and the Elements, which we think would be a powerful beginning for this conversation. The project began in October 2023 with a monthly reading group focusing on Lang’s book and will build on these discussions in the 2024/25 academic year.
Project Lead: Aaron Turner