  Even putting aside the framework of atoms and void, the Gassendist ontology poses an alternative to rival Aristotelian and Cartesian views, with respect to space and time. Gassendi's conception of time and space is absolute. Time flows uniformly irrespective of any motion, and space is uniformly extended regardless of any objects that may be contained within it (O I 183, 285). Indeed, both space and time pre-date Creation, and are infinite in character.