Aristotle, On Coming-to-be and Passing-away

In this course, we will explore Aristotle's De Generatione et Corruptione, known in English as either On Generation and Corruption or On Coming-to-be and Passing-away. In the work, Aristotle confronts issues of change, particularly of substantial change and qualitative change, as he articulates his theory of elements: what are the philosophical demands and constraints upon the stuff(s) that are taken to be basic, what is the nature of these basic stuffs, and how do they serve to form the universe? These considerations have considerable relevance and interest for his broader physics, metaphysics, and ontology, as well as for his cosmology and biology. We will also consider how in the work Aristotle both presents himself as and actually operates as reacting to the significant body of theorizing on the topic by his predecessors (Plato and the Presocratics).