Aristotle s And Primary Substance - 1571 Words

It seems that since Aristotle’s Categories, he has changed his mind as to what primary substance is. Instead of the primary substance being the individual, a change is seen in Metaphysics VII that primary substance is now the form. It is my intention to clearly account for the reasoning that Aristotle had for making this change as he continued to contemplate what primary substance of a thing is. When the reader is finished, they will be able to agree that having form as primary substance makes perfect sense and everything else just falls short of what primary substance needs to be. In the beginning of Metaphysics VII, Aristotle asks again; what is substance? We know that substance is the base of all things that exist, that part is†¦show more content†¦The second criterion that a substance must fulfill is the essence criterion, in which the substance must be intelligible, and this is what Aristotle called secondary substances in the Categories. The problem is that , if either of these is missing reality will either be unknowable or the knowable will be unreal. Then Aristotle changed what he considered primary substances, and Metaphysics VII was posited with his new considerations. One of the questions that Aristotle asked was if substance was particular or universal? If particular, it would not be knowable because the particular is known through its essence, so if particular, the intelligibility slips away because it is not definable. On the other hand, if it is a universal it would be knowable, but not real because the universal concept does not have tangibility. This reveals to us that substance must be both particular and universal at the same time. We can now say that to be a primary substance, it must be both intelligible (knowable) and ontologically basic (real). Once we get to the point that primary substance needs to be both knowable and real we can then move to the three candidates for primary substance that Aristotle considers. Lear says that â€Å"Aristotle then seems to rush headlong to his conclusion. For he says that of the three candidates for substance – form, matter, and the composite of form and matter – both the matter and the composite may beShow MoreRelatedIn Understanding, Idealism And Materialism, It Takes An1171 Words   |  5 PagesIn understanding, Idealism and Materialism, it takes an open mind in reading the writings â€Å"The Republic,† â€Å"Materialism,† and â€Å"Metaphysics† from both Plato and Aristotle. Materialism, your mind is a product and part of the world, idealism the world is a product of and is just in our minds, and metaphysics abstract theory or talk with no basis in reality. I consider Idealism to be the best way to understand reality, than anything else. 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