Three-dimensionality vs. prime matter: comparing the ideas of matter in John Philoponus and Aristotle

This paper considers a number of arguments in defense of the idea of matter's being created developed by John Philoponus in his treatise “De aeternitate mundi contra Proclum”. It is well known that the concept of matter was transformed by Philoponus as compared to the physics of Aristotle, and in the present occasion I aim to contribute to an on-going scholarly discussion on how Philoponus' concept of matter qua three-dimensionality helped him to substantiate the idea of creation ex nihilo.