Unity and Primary Substance for Aristotle

Primary substance for Aristotle is either the individual or form. These same two possibilities are the leading candidates for the source of unity in a substance. Thus, if we could determine what is responsible for the unity of a substance, we may well have located primary substance also. I consider...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Deavel, Catherine Jack (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: 2003
In: Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association
Year: 2003, Volume: 77, Pages: 159-172
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Summary:Primary substance for Aristotle is either the individual or form. These same two possibilities are the leading candidates for the source of unity in a substance. Thus, if we could determine what is responsible for the unity of a substance, we may well have located primary substance also. I consider the following possible sources of the unity of form and matter in a substance: 1) The unifier is a connector external to form and matter. (This connector may be itself a form, matter, or a relation that is neither formal nor material.) 2) There is no need for a unifier because form and matter are simply conceptual ways of understanding a single, already-unified, concrete being. 3) The unifier is an inherent aspect of form or matter. I proceed by a process of elimination and conclude that substantial form is both what unifies a substance and the better candidate for primary substance.
ISSN:2153-7925
Contains:Enthalten in: American Catholic Philosophical Association, Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.5840/acpaproc20037720