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Work #1771

On Light (De Luce)

Robert Grosseteste
c. 1225–1228 · Latin
Short philosophical treatise (opusculum) · Oxford natural philosophy / Augustinian light-metaphysics

Light is the first corporeal form — the cosmos generated by the infinite self-multiplication of an original point

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute On Light (De Luce)
Time · Extent Both
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 Emergent
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 Reason
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Finite
Energy · Ontological Status Emergent
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Continuous

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

On Light (De Luce)

Both eternal and temporal. The cosmos has a temporal beginning in the creation of the point of light.

Space

On Light (De Luce)

Emergent — this is the treatise's key claim. Space is generated by light's self-multiplication, not pre-existing.

Matter

On Light (De Luce)

Substantival, conserved. Matter exists as the substrate that light informs and extends into three dimensions.

Observer

On Light (De Luce)

Embodied, active, mathematically engaged. Knowledge is built through geometrical and optical demonstration.

Energy

On Light (De Luce)

Emergent — light (lux) functions as primordial energy that generates the cosmos by self-diffusion.

Information

On Light (De Luce)

Conserved. Light is both a physical phenomenon and the principle of intelligibility (continuous granularity).

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

On Light (De Luce)

The treatise straddles Augustinian Platonism and Aristotelian natural philosophy without fully reconciling them. Light is simultaneously a physical substance and a metaphor for divine illumination. The mathematical argument — that an infinitely multiplied simple substance produces a finite quantity — is asserted rather than demonstrated, and its mathematical validity is debatable.