more from this thinker     |     more from this text

Single Idea 12301

[filed under theme 9. Objects / C. Structure of Objects / 3. Matter of an Object ]

Full Idea

Everything has a sort of matter [hule], provided only that it is not a what-it-was-to-be-that-thing [ti en einai] and a per se Form Itself [eidos auto kath' auto] but a possessor of thisness [tode ti].

Gist of Idea

Every distinct thing has matter, as long as it isn't an essence or a Form

Source

Aristotle (Metaphysics [c.324 BCE], 1037a01)

Book Ref

Aristotle: 'Metaphysics', ed/tr. Lawson-Tancred,Hugh [Penguin 1998], p.208

A Reaction

Kit Fine quotes this to support the claim that Aristotelian 'matter' is not confined to physical objects. Aristotle's essence is the form which imposes identity on the matter.

Related Idea

Idea 12300 Aristotle's conception of matter applies to non-physical objects as well as physical objects [Aristotle, by Fine,K]

The 13 ideas with the same theme [underlying material which is formed into an object]:

12134 Matter is the substratum, which supports both coming-to-be and alteration [Aristotle]
12301 Every distinct thing has matter, as long as it isn't an essence or a Form [Aristotle]
16092 In Aristotle, bronze only becomes 'matter' when it is potentially a statue [Aristotle, by Gill,ML]
12300 Aristotle's conception of matter applies to non-physical objects as well as physical objects [Aristotle, by Fine,K]
12077 Aristotle's matter is something that could be the inner origin of a natural being's behaviour [Aristotle, by Witt]
12103 Matter is secondary, because it is potential, determined by the actuality of form [Aristotle, by Witt]
11255 In feature-generation the matter (such as bronze) endures, but in generation it doesn't [Aristotle, by Politis]
11204 The ultimate material of things has the unity of total formlessness [Avicenna]
15309 The assumption that shape and solidity are fundamental implies dubious 'substance' in bodies [Harré/Madden]
12057 Matter underlies things, composes things, and brings them to be [Wiggins]
17531 I assume matter is particulate, made up of 'simples' [Inwagen]
16083 Aristotelian matter seriously threatens the intrinsic unity and substantiality of its object [Gill,ML]
13333 The matter is a relatively unstructured version of the object, like a set without membership structure [Fine,K]