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Theophrastus

Theophrastus inherits Aristotle's relational view of time as the measure of change, but his questioning of universal teleology loosens the link between time and purpose. The cosmos is eternal (infinite in duration), but time is linear and uni-directional within it. Non-deterministic: Theophrastus's doubts about teleology imply a world less tightly governed than Aristotle's.

Theophrastus

Space is Aristotelian: finite, relational (defined by the places of natural bodies), three-dimensional. Theophrastus does not innovate here, though his botanical classification implicitly depends on a fine-grained spatial observation of habitats and distribution.

Theophrastus

Matter is substantival and conserved, following Aristotle's hylomorphism. But Theophrastus is more attentive than Aristotle to the material details: the textures, humours, and growth patterns of plants are catalogued with an empirical precision that pushes beyond Aristotelian form-matter theory.

Theophrastus

The observer is the patient empirical investigator — embodied, active, and plural (Theophrastus collaborated with other Peripatetics). Knowledge is immediate (based on direct observation) and retainable. No metaphysical agency: Theophrastus questions whether the unmoved mover plays the role Aristotle assigned it.

Theophrastus

Theophrastus does not have a concept of energy as such, but his treatment of plant growth, heat, and the causes of natural change implies a relational, conserved principle underlying organic processes.

Theophrastus

Cosmic information is conserved through the natural order that persists across generations of plants and animals. Personal information is not conserved: Theophrastus has no doctrine of personal immortality. The Characters themselves are a technology of information conservation — preserving moral types in literary form.