Aristotle on Unmoved Mover and its Necessity

Abstract

In this investigation, I offer a series of answers to a set of related questions concerning Aristotle’s notion of unmoved mover. To the question how many unmoved movers there are for Aristotle, I argue in chapters 1 and 2 that Aristotle recognizes a multiplicity of unmoved movers in the world, including the heavenly movers and the mortal souls. To the question how an unmoved mover causes motion, I argue in chapters 3 and 4 that, whereas a moved mover causes motion by reciprocally touching the thing moved and is moved by it in return, an unmoved mover causes motion by unilaterally touching the thing moved. To the question what kind of necessity is exhibited in the sublunary world, I argue in chapter 5 that Aristotle does believe and, because simple necessity belongs to unmoved mover as such, has conceptual reasons to believe that simple necessity is exhibited by the mortal souls in the sublunary world. I argue further that the two kinds of conditional necessity exhibited in the sublunary world are derivative from simple necessity.