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We can agree that Aristotle was one of the greats, and it is pleasant to agree, as we also agree on many political issues, I would remind you (remember our camaraderie on global warming). However, it was much more straightforward, I think. As he remarks in Book I of the metaphysics, it makes the greatest sense to attribute the majestic order of the universe to Intellect. He did not, of course, think that God created the universe, but rather that there was a hierarchy of actualized beings, man being the highest in the sub- lunar sphere; the moon, sun, planets, and stars (the gods); and the Prime Mover beyond the sphere of the fixed stars, "thought thinking itself", the sum of all actuality, and thus the self- contemplation of the cosmic order. Each sphere exerted a pull on the next lower, because the lower longed for greater completion. Thus, the moon controlled the tides and the menstrual cycle, and had an influence on fecundity. The Prime Mover was an unmoving source of energy because the sphere of the fixed stars rotated for desire of it. I elaborate all of this in order to show, first, that it was not similar to the beliefs of the surrounding culture, particularly; second, to hint at the integral nature of these views to his whole philosophy; and third, to show how Aristotle may have made sense in ordering the available data. |
