Space Time Matter And Form

Space, Time, Matter, and Form collects ten of David Bostock's essays on themes from Aristotle's Physics, four of them published here for the first time. The first five papers look at issues raised in the first two books of the Physics, centred on notions of matter and form, and the idea of substance as what persists through change.

They also range over other of Aristotle's scientific works, such as his biology and psychology and the account of change in his De Generatione et Corruptione. The volume's remaining essays examine themes in later books of the Physics, including infinity, place, time, and continuity. Bostock argues that Aristotle's views on these topics are of real interest in their own right, independent of his notions of substance, form, and matter; they also raise some pressing problems of interpretation, which these essays seek to resolve.

Review: This is a very useful publication. There is clearly a unity of vision which underlies these different studies, and it is good to have them collected in a book. Both the choice of topics and the high quality of discussion make it indispensible reading for all serious students of Aristotle. Inna Kupreeva, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews This timely collection of essays by David Bostock, written over a twenty year period, will help to reorient the reader of this classic of the history of philosophy and science...I found every essay in this volume deepened my appreciation of Aristotle's natural philosophy and challenged me to reconsider its foundations.

James Lennox, Mind