Matter and Form in Sixteenth-Century Spain: Some Case Studies

Abstract

In the last few decades, scholars have rethought the history of matter theories in important ways, particularly with respect to the sources, origins and antecedents of atomism and corpuscularianism in the seventeenth century. In particular, recent commentators have shown that the supposed opposition between atomism and Aristotelianism is insufficient for understanding the historical development of matter theories and their conceptual plurality. Along with corpuscular doctrines dating back to Antiquity, such as those of Heron or Asclepiades, well treated in Lasswitz’s classic work, certain aspects of the Aristotelian corpus and tradition have contributed in important ways to subsequent corpuscular doctrines. Even though Aristotle opposed atomism and maintained that matter was continuous, his thought did not completely rule out corpuscular explanations.