The System of Physics

Chapter 10 considers the structure of Proclus’ rarely discussed Elements of Physics and its original contribution to the understanding of physics in antiquity. It is argued that the purpose of the treatise is not only a systematic arrangement of the arguments scattered throughout Aristotle’s works on natural philosophy, using the structure of Euclid’s Elements as a model. Proclus also aims to develop a universal theory of motion or physical change that establishes the first principles as definitions, formulates and demonstrates a number of mutually related propositions about natural objects, and culminates in establishing the existence and properties of the prime mover. Unlike modern physics, which presupposes the applicability of mathematics to physics, Proclus shows that the study of natural phenomena in the more geometrico way can be a systematic rational science arranged by means of logic rather than mathematics.