Work Classification Layer
Compare Works
Pick two or more works to set their attribute fingerprints, dimension-by-dimension passages, and shared school embodiments side by side. Especially useful for author-stage comparisons (Wittgenstein early vs late) and for setting a single tradition's foundational texts against each other.
Against Aristotle on the Eternity of the World
The world cannot be eternal — an actually infinite past is impossible, therefore the cosmos had a beginning in time
Attribute Fingerprint
Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.
| Attribute | Against Aristotle on the Eternity of the World |
|---|---|
| Time · Extent | Finite |
| Time · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Time · Grain | Continuous |
| Time · Freedom | Non-Deterministic |
| Time · Traversability | Linear |
| Time · Dimensionality | One |
| Time · Direction | Uni-directional |
| Space · Extent | Finite |
| Space · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Space · Curvature | not engaged |
| Space · Dimensionality | Three |
| Space · Locality | Local |
| Matter · Extent | Finite |
| Matter · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Matter · Conservation | Conserved |
| Matter · Dimensionality | Three |
| Matter · Locality | Local |
| Observer · Time Instance | Single |
| Observer · Space Instance | Single |
| Observer · Knowledge Extent | Mediated |
| Observer · Knowledge Retainment | Partial |
| Observer · Physicality | Embodied |
| Observer · Agency | Active |
| Observer · Number | Plural |
| Observer · Metaphysical Agency | Personal |
| Observer · Moral Authority | Scripture |
| Observer · Theological Method | — |
| Energy · Extent | Finite |
| Energy · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Energy · Conservation | Conserved |
| Energy · Dispersibility | Irreversible |
| Information · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Information · Cosmic Conservation | Conserved |
| Information · Personal Conservation | Conserved |
| Information · Granularity | not engaged |
Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence
What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.
Time
Against Aristotle on the Eternity of the World
Finite — this is the central argument. The past cannot be actually infinite; the world must have had a temporal beginning. God creates time itself along with the cosmos. Linear, uni-directional, continuous.
Space
Against Aristotle on the Eternity of the World
Finite, bounded. The physical cosmos is spatially limited. The rejection of the fifth element unifies celestial and sublunary space under the same physics.
Matter
Against Aristotle on the Eternity of the World
Finite, substantival, created. Matter is not eternal but created by God. Celestial and sublunary matter are the same kind — no special aether.
Observer
Against Aristotle on the Eternity of the World
Embodied, active, plural. The philosopher argues from empirical evidence (dropped weights) and rational demonstration. Knowledge is mediated through argument and observation.
Energy
Against Aristotle on the Eternity of the World
Finite, conserved. The impetus theory (developed in other works) implies a finite motive force that is imparted, conserved, and gradually dissipated.
Information
Against Aristotle on the Eternity of the World
Substantival, conserved. God's creative knowledge is the source of all intelligible order in the created cosmos.
Internal Tensions
Where each work's argument pulls against itself.
The work survives only in fragments quoted by a hostile critic (Simplicius), creating interpretive difficulties about Philoponus's exact arguments. The impossibility-of-actual-infinity argument has been challenged by modern mathematicians (Cantor's transfinite arithmetic), though defenders argue that mathematical and physical infinity are different questions. The unification of celestial and sublunary physics was scientifically prophetic but theologically motivated, raising questions about the relationship between theological commitment and scientific insight.