THE THREE SPECIES OF MOTION, WITH ANSWERS TO OBJECTIONS TO THE POSSIBILITY OF MOTION

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THE THREE SPECIES OF MOTION, WITH ANSWERS TO OBJECTIONS TO THE POSSIBILITY OF MOTION
Natural things have in themselves an inherent principle of motion. This is because nature is the source or cause of motion (source of being moved) or being at rest in that which it belongs primarily in virtue of itself (per se). And not in virtue of a concomitant attribute.[1] So, things in nature are either in motion or in potency to move. This motion exists in three species namely quantity, quality, and place (locomotion). Therefore, it is our aim in this paper to give a brief summary of how motion exists in these three categories mention above.
            According to Aristotle, motion can only be defined in terms of its terminals. There are five basic requirements for motion. These are: that which directly causes motion (efficient cause or a mover), that which is in motion (the mobile or subject of the motion), that in which motion takes place i.e. time in which the motion occurs, a starting point or terminal of the motion, and that to which motion proceeds (the end point or terminal of the motion), since every motion proceeds from something into something. He considered the two terminals for he believes that ‘that in motion’ differs from that to which and from which motion proceeds.   He postulates that there are different kinds of changes with respect to the terminals. He identified the changes associated with generation and corruption as non- motion because they are instantaneous while motion is continuous. Change from a non-subject to a subject takes place between contradictories and is called generation (non-red to red, non-man to man). Generation is not motion because what does not exist cannot be moved, and if it exists it is already generated. Change from subject to non-subject is also between contradictory terminals and is called corruption (red to non-red, man to non-man). Only the change from subject to subject (i.e. two affirmative contraries or intermediaries) is motion i.e. from a being to another being which signify two terminals (black to white).
            Qualitative motion, which is a motion according to sensible qualities. Which is also called alteration. “A general designation that is used to include both contraries,”[2] quality as used here, says Aristotle, does not refer to the property of a substance. But rather a “change within the same kind from a lesser to a greater degree …” and vice visa,
            Quantitative motion, this could be seen as motion based on growth (increase) or decrease. It has no name that includes both contraries (as alteration does in qualitative motion). But unlike qualitative motion which is both in a qualified or unqualified sense, quantitative motion has only a ‘qualified’ sense.
Motion in respect of place, says Aristotle, has no general or particular name, but could be designated as by the general name of Locomotion. The local movements naturally, are either upwards or downwards, the former (upwards) for light things, and the later for heavy things. Others, left and right, are given to things in relation to us, the perceiver.
In conclusion, there are three kinds of motion, namely, qualitative, quantitative and local motion and each of these motions possess a pair of contrary extremes (terminals).

[1] Nature according to Aristotle is an inner principle or the source and cause of being moved or being at rest per se and not per accidens (Cf. Aristotle, Physics, Bk III, part 1.)
[2] Aristotle, Physics, Bk v, part 2

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