Aspasius on Providence

Aspasius is one of the few Peripatetic sources on providence before Alexander of Aphrodisias. In his commentary on Nicomachean Ethics III. 3, he offers a brief discussion of this topic. Within the framework of his commentary on deliberation, Aspasius identifies a specific causal principle—“Necessity”—which he equates with the providence of the first mover, while also linking the action of providence to nature. In doing so, he takes a stance within broader philosophical debates on the cosmological role of necessity, as discussed by the Epicureans, Stoics, and Middle Platonists. Aspasius also emphasizes the harmony between this providence and the nature of the celestial bodies, without explicitly ruling out the possibility that such harmony extends, in a weaker form, beyond the sphere of the moon. Aspasius thus exploits an ambiguity in the Aristotelian text of the Ethics, yet his conception of providence remains strictly physical. Aspasius’ commentary is the subject of a new evaluation based on a fresh reading of the Greek text.