Workshop in Ancient Philosophy (Thursday - Week 1, HT24)

Chair: Simon Shogry

In Metaphysics Λ, Aristotle gives his famous account of the prime mover: a divine unmoved mover that moves the first heaven, and everything else, as an object of love. Elsewhere, he calls the science concerning this prime mover θεολογική or ‘theology’ (Meta. E.1, 1026a19; K.2, 1064b3). But what is the point of Aristotle’s theology? According to a common answer, the purpose of Aristotle’s theology is to establish the existence of the prime mover (or unmoved movers in general). In this talk, I will look at two key arguments in Λ.6–7 that are often read as such existence proofs and argue that their purpose is rather to explain facts about the perceptible world. On this reading, the introduction of unmoved movers, including the prime mover, is not the ultimate goal of Aristotle’s theology but serves a further purpose: the explanation of the perceptible world. I will also sketch how my reading can accommodate later passages in Λ that seem dedicated to characterizing the prime mover for its own sake.