  What were some of the major issues on which Patrizi took Aristotle to task?   In his Della poetica (Aguzzi-Barbagli 1961-1971) he evaluated and rejected the Stagirite's analysis of poetry as a form of imitation, seeking to replace it with his own view, influenced at least in part by Platonic sources (Bolzoni 1980, 1983; Spedicati 1986). With regard to Aristotle's views on metaphysics and natural philosophy, he rejected the notion that the three basic “principles” of form, matter and privation could provide an adequate account of the nature of being, especially given that matter was conceived in terms of pure potentiality and form as incapable of existing except as embodied in a material substrate (Vasoli 1996). Within the broader range of scientific and cosmological issues discussed in his major work on his “New” philosophy, Patrizi rejects Aristotle's denial of the possibility of a vacuum, arguing instead for a position closer to the atomistic view that a material void is possible, although couched in terms of his own conception of space. In that work he would also argue for replacing the four standard Aristotelian material elements – earth, air, fire and water – with his own alternatives – space (spatium), light (lux), heat (calor) and humidity (fluor). He rejected the finitude of the physical universe and the concept that heavenly bodies moved in conjunction with fixed celestial spheres. In sum, by drawing upon a series of ancient, late medieval and Renaissance sources, Patrizi sought to replace the dominant Aristotelianism of his era with a new and challenging alternative – one which showed at many levels his preference for a Platonic conception of reality.