“The place of Place”: Aristotle's τόποσ Through the Lens of Digital Space

Abstract

The article addresses a problem in the history of philosophy: why Aristotle's definition of place as the boundary of the surrounding body proved historically barren, whereas the notion he rejected – place as a self-subsistent three-dimensional extension (diastema) –became the basis of the modern concept of space. The method is a comparative analysis of Aristotle's definition, its critique in Philoponus, and the present-day debate about it (R. Sorabji, B. Morison, E. Hussey), supplemented by an analogy with digital three-dimensional space. It is shown that the coordinate grid of a graphics editor corresponds not to the Aristotelian place-as-boundary but to the Philoponean extension, which acquires an operational embodiment in the digital environment. Conclusion: the historical advantage of extension is explained by its operationality – its capacity to serve as a working medium for constructions – rather than by any logical failure of Aristotle's definition. The analogy is employed as a tool of interpretation, not as a proof of any thesis about reality.