more from this thinker | more from this text
Full Idea
Only those objects are substances which are being constituted under, and by, some nature, ..so that this nature, which is a principle rather than an element, is their substance.
Gist of Idea
A true substance is constituted by some nature, which is a principle
Source
Aristotle (Metaphysics [c.324 BCE], 1041b31)
Book Ref
Aristotle: 'Metaphysics', ed/tr. Lawson-Tancred,Hugh [Penguin 1998], p.229
A Reaction
My view is that Aristotle never got to the point of articulating his hylomorphism, so this is just him fishing around, and pointing to where others should investigate. What sort of 'principle'?
Related Idea
Idea 12362 A thing's substance is its primary cause of being [Aristotle]
| 16095 | Some forms, such as the Prime Mover, are held by Aristotle to exist without matter [Aristotle, by Gill,ML] |
| 15853 | A true substance is constituted by some nature, which is a principle [Aristotle] |
| 16640 | Form is the principle that connects a thing's constitution (rather than being operative) [Hill,N] |
| 16761 | Forms are of no value in physics, but are indispensable in metaphysics [Leibniz] |
| 17544 | Basic particles have a mathematical form, which is more important than their substance [Heisenberg] |
| 15956 | The peripatetics treated forms and real qualities as independent of matter, and non-material [Alexander,P] |
| 15128 | We can treat the structure/form of the world differently from the nodes/matter of the world [Hawthorne] |
| 16612 | Hylomorphism may not be a rival to science, but an abstract account of unity and endurance [Pasnau] |