Aristotle: The Philosopher as Scientist
The Complete History of Science
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Aristotle's Theory of Matter
Aristotle was firmly opposed to atomism and spent a great deal of energy arguing against it. He argued that space is full and matter stretches continuously across all space, what is sometimes known as the plenum. Aristotle appealed to a combination of observation and deduction in order to argue this. For example, he observed that an object falling through a medium will have a speed which is dependent on the density of that medium. This argument also demonstrates how Aristotle's theories of matter formed a part of his much larger system - used to explain a range of phenomena.
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