The limits of being: Being and nothing in Artistotle's "Metaphysics"

The problem of how to account rationally about Being and Nothing has plagued Western Philosophy since its inception. Although dealt with by both Ancient and Modern philosophers, this problem is more clearly expressed in the work of the Ancients, be it in the work of Aristotle or Plato. This thesis, then, is an attempt to clarify how the Ancients, specifically in the work of Aristotle, understood this fundamental problematic. By showing how Aristotle articulates these concepts, we not only gain a better understanding of Aristotle's teaching, but, in a sense just as important, we gain access to Ancient philosophy. More specifically, we will show how Aristotle follows the Eleatics by subsuming the Nothing into a form of Being. Yet, Aristotle's analysis of Being leaves him unable to talk about Being in its primary sense as to ti en enai. We argue, then, that Aristotle's teaching centers around the recognition that, although the full articulation of Being and Nothing is beyond the limits of human knowledge, access to these concepts can be gained indirectly.