Article In: Bochumer Philosophisches Jahrbuch für Antike und Mittelalter: Band 28
Herausgegeben von Manuel Baumbach und Olaf Pluta
[Bochumer Philosophisches Jahrbuch für Antike und Mittelalter 28] 2025
► pp. 1–31

The origin and constitution of the manifestly heterogeneous world in Anaxagoras’ physics

 | University of Belgrade
 | University of Belgrade
 | University of Belgrade
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
This paper argues that the infinite complexity of Anaxagoras’ original mixture is due to the simultaneous obtaining of two principles: that there is always a smaller but never the smallest, and that everything that is manifest after nous’ intervention must have been present originally. It is shown that heterogeneity, although present, cannot be manifest in a mixture of such complexity, and then that the manifestness becomes possible due to nous’ grouping of qualities into qualitative minima. A non-standard translation and reading of B6 grounds this latter claim. Finally, the interpretation’s implications concerning the opposites, seeds, and the cosmic measure are discussed.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The original stage of the universe
    • 2.1Two basic principles
      • 2.1.1The mereo-topological principle
      • 2.1.2The ontological principle
    • 2.2The simultaneous application of both basic principles: ἐν παντὶ πάντα
  • 3.The emergence of the manifest heterogeneity out of the original mixture
    • 3.1Two cosmic orders and two stages in the history of the universe
    • 3.2The intervention of nous as the singular event in the history of the universe
    • 3.3From a smaller to a larger: The spreading of motion through the universe
    • 3.4The causal role of motion in the emergence of heterogeneity
    • 3.5The necessity of ‘the smallest’: Translation of the two crucial sentences
    • 3.6Definition of “the smallest”: The philosophical analysis
    • 3.7The second cosmic order: The constitution of the manifestly heterogeneous world
      • 3.7.1Droplets and qualities
      • 3.7.2Droplets and opposites
      • 3.7.3Droplets and seeds
    • 3.8The smallest as the measure and the possibility of multiple worlds
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Author queries
  • Bibliography
References (42)
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