THE ETERNITY OF THE WORLD - JAN FILOPON'S DISCUSSION WITH ARISTOTLE

Immerse yourself in a fascinating reconstruction of the dispute between Jan Filopon and Aristotle regarding the fundamental assumptions of physics and the question of the eternity of the world. This book is a unique opportunity to trace the argumentation of the Christian philosopher from Alexandria, who philosophically justified the concept of creation of the world from nothing (creatio ex nihilo). The publication complements the meager collection of works on Greek philosophy of late antiquity in Polish.

• First Polish translation of Filopon's "De aeternitate mundi contra Aristotelem"
• Bilingual edition of the Greek and Polish text
• Analysis of Filopon's argumentation regarding the creation of the world from nothing
• Introduction to the religious and philosophical context of Alexandria
• Reference of Filopon's work to the work of Simplicius
• Detailed discussion of the Aristotelian theory of motion and natural place
• Filopon's criticism regarding the eternity of heaven

The book analyzes Filopon's argumentation, preserved fragmentarily in a treatise on this topic, as well as in a partial reconstruction of his work based on preserved fragments. The author introduces the reader to the complex religious and philosophical context of Alexandria, presents the figure of Filopon, his views and literary legacy, and relates Filopon's work to the work of Simplicius, a thinker who, thanks to his comments, provided insights into many fragments of Filopon's lost work.

The author also deals with the Aristotelian theory of motion and natural place, the issues of the perfection of heaven and the construction of the universe, the eternity of motion, time, the indestructibility of heaven, the first mover, and God. The presentation of Aristotelian physics is accompanied by criticism made by Jan Filopon, including arguments for the thesis that heaven cannot exist eternally and must have its origin in time, as well as the concept of a creating God.

An integral part of the study is an extensive appendix, which consists of: the original Greek text composed of fragments from two commentaries by Simplicius, their Polish translation, and a glossary of terms. The book was published by the Polish Society of Thomas Aquinas and has 320 pages. The format of the book is 169x242 mm, and the binding is hardcover. The year of publication is 2022.