Source edition
Aristotle. On Sophistical Refutations, On Coming to be and Passing Away, On the Cosmos. Forster, Edward Seymour, editor. London, Cambridge: William Heinmann Ltd., Harvard University Press, 1955.
Source data
Open Greek and Latin · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
In this natural-philosophical treatise, Aristotle investigates the fundamental nature of "generation" (genesis) and "corruption" (phthora), distinguishing them from qualitative alteration and growth. He begins by critically examining the theories of predecessor philosophers, such as the atomists and Plato, arguing that generation and corruption are not mere combinations and separations of matter, but changes of the substance as a whole. To establish this, he defines key physical concepts including contact, action and passion, and mixture. In the second book, he derives the four elements (fire, air, water, and earth) from combinations of the primary tangible contrarieties (hot, cold, wet, and dry) and explains their mutual transformation. Ultimately, the work concludes by linking the ceaseless cycle of generation and corruption on Earth to the eternal circular motion of the celestial bodies, demonstrating how terrestrial change mimics cosmic eternity through the preservation of species.