Aristotle on What Is ‘Beyond Us’ (ὑπὲρ ἡμᾶς)

Ancient Philosophy 44 (2):469-485 (2024)
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Abstract

On three occasions Aristotle judges explanations by earlier thinkers to be simply ‘beyond us’ (ὑðὲñ ἡìᾶò), namely, at Meta. iii 4, GA i 18, and GA ii 8. What failure is Aristotle charging earlier scientists with when he says this? I argue that the phrase ‘beyond us’ introduces a carefully considered charge (as opposed to an empty dismissal): an explanation of fact p is ‘beyond us’ when and only when it posits an explainer q that is (i) empirically unverifiable and (ii) will explain only this one fact p and no other facts.

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