In Liba Taub (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Science. Cambridge, UK: pp. 79-101 (2020)
Authors |
|
Abstract |
This essay considers three case studies of Aristotle’s use of matter, drawn from three different scientific contexts: menstrual fluid as the matter of animal generation in the Generation of Animals, the living body as matter of an organism in Aristotle’s On the Soul (De Anima), and the matter of elemental transformation in Generation and Corruption. I argue that Aristotle conceives of matter differently in these treatises (1) because of the different sorts of changes under consideration, and (2) because sometimes he is considering the matter for one specific change, and sometimes the matter for all of a thing’s natural changes. My account allows me to explain some of the strange features that Aristotle ascribes to the matter for elemental transformation in Generation and Corruption II. These features were interpreted by later commentators as general features of all matter. I argue that they are a result of the specific way that Aristotle thinks about the transmutation of the elements.
|
Keywords | Aristotle Matter The Elements prime matter the body |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
Buy the book |
Find it on Amazon.com
|
Options |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Download options
References found in this work BETA
No references found.
Citations of this work BETA
No citations found.
Similar books and articles
Prime Matter and Actuality.Christopher Byrne - 1995 - Journal of the History of Philosophy 33 (2):197-224.
Aristotle on His Three Elements: A Reading of Aristotle's Own Doctrine.Alistair Marcus Kwan - unknown
A Synchronic Justification for Aristotle's Commitment to Prime Matter.Margaret Scharle - 2009 - Phronesis 54 (4-5):326-345.
Aristotle and Contemporary Science, Volume 2.Leo J. Elders - 2002 - Review of Metaphysics 55 (3):650-651.
De Generatione Et Corruptione 2.3: Does Aristotle Identify The Contraries As Elements?Timothy J. Crowley - 2013 - Classical Quarterly 63 (1):161-182.
A Noção Aristotélica de Matéria.Lucas Angioni - 2007 - Cadernos de História E Filosofia da Ciéncia 17 (1):47-90.
The Doctrine of Prime Matter in Aristotle’s Science of Nature.H. Mahboobi Arani - 2012 - Metaphysik 3 (11):17-32.
Prime Matter Without Extension.Mary Krizan - 2016 - Journal of the History of Philosophy 54 (4):523-546.
Blood, Matter, and Necessity.David Ebrey - 2015 - In Theory and Practice in Aristotle's Natural Science. Cambridge, UK: pp. 61-76.
The Supposed Material Cause in Posterior Analytics 2.11.Nathanael Stein - 2020 - Phronesis 66 (1):27-51.
Aristotle's Doctrine of the Material Substrate.Sheldon Cohen - 1984 - Philosophical Review 93 (2):171-194.
Aristotle on the Impossibility of Anaximander’s Apeiron: On Generation and Corruption, 332a20-25.Michael Wedin - 2013 - Phronesis 58 (1):17-31.
Analytics
Added to PP index
2021-01-27
Total views
163 ( #70,846 of 2,498,946 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
38 ( #22,853 of 2,498,946 )
2021-01-27
Total views
163 ( #70,846 of 2,498,946 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
38 ( #22,853 of 2,498,946 )
How can I increase my downloads?
Downloads