PT Journal
AU Kocandrle, R
TI Pozadi Aristotelovych argumentu pro kulovy tvar Zeme
SO Aither
PY 2025
BP 4
EP 23
VL 17
IS 1
DI 10.5507/aither.2025.004
AB In On the Heavens, Aristotle argues for the notion of a spherical Earth. Crucially, he uses the theory of natural places, in particular the explanation of why heavy bodies fall. This, however, rests on the assumption of a sphere of fixed stars: all parts of the earthy element move towards its centre, gradually forming a spherical Earth. Empirical arguments play merely a supporting role. The goal of this article is to show that Aristotle develops an earlier spherical conception of the universe, which he supplements with the principles of his physics. The spherical concept of the universe is found already in Plato, who uses an argument about the stable position of the Earth in the centre of heaven that is attested also in the thoughts of Parmenides. Moreover, according to Eudemus, some thinkers viewed Parmenides's Being (likened to the sphere) as the heaven. One can thus suppose that the conception of a heavenly sphere was originally based on Parmenides's concept of Being interpreted in the cosmological sense as a unity of all there is. Parmenides could then derive the spherical shape of the Earth from the heavenly sphere by analogy.
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