Aristotle’s Nature-Bound Theology in <italic>Metaphysics</italic> Λ.

In <italic>Metaphysics</italic> Λ, Aristotle appeals to the prime mover: an unmoved mover that is the first moving cause of the world. Elsewhere, he calls the science concerned with the prime mover ‘theology’ (<italic>Meta</italic>. E.1, 1026a19). But what is the point of this science? On a common view, its purpose is to give an account of the prime mover itself, and especially to prove its existence. By contrast, I argue that Aristotle’s theology in <italic>Metaphysics</italic> Λ is ‘nature-bound’: it ultimately aims at explaining facts about the perceptible world, in particular the motion of heavenly bodies and the cycle of generation of perishable substances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]