Aristotle's God in Metaphysics 12.7

What is it about?

Scholars commonly say that in Metaph. 12.7 Aristotle identifies his prime mover as an intellect (nous); I argue here that the text doesn’t support this, and give a different interpretation, that he here deduces characteristics of the prime mover (its divinity and life) from those of the intellect hypothesised to contemplate it. Clarifying the argument of ch.7 both puts the achievement of ch.9 (where Aristotle does identify his prime mover as this divine intellect) in a new light, as an argument from a common philosophical opinion (endoxon), and also reveals better Aristotle’s strategy and aims in ch.7.

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