Geoffrey of Aspall on nature

Abstract

Recent studies have shown the widespread influence of Grosseteste’s theory of natural agency on the English commentators on the libri naturales of Aristotle from around 1240-1270. This paper provides a detailed account of how an exponent of this exegetical tradition, Geoffrey of Aspall, resorts to Grosseteste’s theory in his interpretation of Aristotle’s notion of nature. In Aspall’s view, the nature that is a principle of a substantial change is neither matter nor form but an entity with an intentional component.