TEXTUAL MISPLACEMENT IN ARISTOTLE’S _METAPHYSICS_ 12

Aristotle discusses intellect in Metaphysics 12.9. This chapter, however, seems incomplete, because a question posed in it (1074b36–8) remains unaddressed. Another passage (1072b14–30) in Metaphysics 12.7 seems to address a similar topic, yet appears extraneous to its present chapter. This article argues that the placing of the aforementioned passage within Metaphysics 12.7 is incorrect, and its original position is actually at the end of Metaphysics 12.9. This alternative reading offers a better understanding of 1072b14–30, and has the potential to finalize the unfinished discussion in Metaphysics 12.9.