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3
The word ‘substance’ is applied, if not in more senses, still at least to four
main objects; for both the essence and the universal and the genus, are
thought to be the substance of each thing, and fourthly the substratum. Now
the substratum is that of which everything else is predicated, while it is itself
not predicated of anything else. And so we must first determine the nature of
this; for that which underlies a thing primarily is thought to be in the truest
sense its substance. And in one sense matter is said to be of the nature of
substratum, in another, shape, and in a third, the compound of these. (By the
matter I mean, for instance, the bronze, by the shape the pattern of its form,
and by the compound of these the statue, the concrete whole.) Therefore if the
form is prior to the matter and more real, it will be prior also to the compound
of both, for the same reason.
We have now outlined the nature of substance, showing that it is that which
is not predicated of a stratum, but of which all else is predicated. But we must
not merely state the matter thus; for this is not enough. The statement itself is
obscure, and further, on this view, matter becomes substance. For if this is not
substance, it baffles us to say what else is. When all else is stripped off
evidently nothing but matter remains. For while the rest are affections,
products, and potencies of bodies, length, breadth, and depth are quantities
and not substances (for a quantity is not a substance), but the substance is
rather that to which these belong primarily. But when length and breadth and
depth are taken away we see nothing left unless there is something that is
bounded by these; so that to those who consider the question thus matter
alone must seem to be substance. By matter I mean that which in itself is
neither a particular thing nor of a certain quantity nor assigned to any other of
the categories by which being is determined. For there is something of which
each of these is predicated, whose being is different from that of each of the
predicates (for the predicates other than substance are predicated of substance,
while substance is predicated of matter). Therefore the ultimate substratum is
of itself neither a particular thing nor of a particular quantity nor otherwise
positively characterized; nor yet is it the negations of these, for negations also
will belong to it only by accident.
If we adopt this point of view, then, it follows that matter is substance. But
this is impossible; for both separability and ‘thisness’ are thought to belong
chiefly to substance. And so form and the compound of form and matter
1613
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book The Complete Aristotle"
The Complete Aristotle
- Title
- The Complete Aristotle
- Author
- Aristotle
- Date
- ~322 B.C.
- Language
- English
- License
- PD
- Size
- 21.0 x 29.7 cm
- Pages
- 2328
- Keywords
- Philosophy, Antique, Philosophie, Antike, Dialogues, Metaphysik, Metaphysics, Ideologie, Ideology, Englisch
- Categories
- Geisteswissenschaften
- International
Table of contents
- Part 1; Logic (Organon) 3
- Categories 4
- On Interpretation 34
- Prior Analytics, Book I 56
- Prior Analytics, Book II 113
- Posterior Analytics, Book I 149
- Posterior Analytics, Book II 193
- Topics, Book I 218
- Topics, Book II 221
- Topics, Book III 237
- Topics, Book IV 248
- Topics, Book V 266
- Topics, Book VI 291
- Topics, Book VII 317
- Topics, Book VIII 326
- On Sophistical Refutations 348
- Part 2; Universal Physics 396
- Physics, Book I 397
- Physics, Book II 415
- Physics, Book III 432
- Physics, Book IV 449
- Physics, Book V 481
- Physics, Book VI 496
- Physics, Book VII 519
- Physics, Book VIII 533
- On the Heavens, Book I 570
- On the Heavens, Book II 599
- On the Heavens, Book III 624
- On the Heavens, Book IV 640
- On Generation and Corruption, Book I 651
- On Generation and Corruption, Book II 685
- Meteorology, Book I 707
- Meteorology, Book II 733
- Meteorology, Book III 760
- Meteorology, Book IV 773
- Part 3; Human Physics 795
- On the Soul, Book I 796
- On the Soul, Book II 815
- On the Soul, Book III 840
- On Sense and the Sensible 861
- On Memory and Reminiscence 889
- On Sleep and Sleeplessness 899
- On Dreams 909
- On Prophesying by Dreams 918
- On Longevity and the Shortness of Life 923
- On Youth, Old Age, Life and Death, and Respiration 929
- Part 4; Animal Physics 952
- The History of Animals, Book I 953
- The History of Animals, Book II translated 977
- The History of Animals, Book III 1000
- The History of Animals, Book IV 1029
- The History of Animals, Book V 1056
- The History of Animals, Book VI 1094
- The History of Animals, Book VII 1135
- The History of Animals, Book VIII 1150
- The History of Animals, Book IX 1186
- On the Parts of Animals, Book I 1234
- On the Parts of Animals, Book II 1249
- On the Parts of Animals, Book III 1281
- On the Parts of Animals, Book IV 1311
- On the Motion of Animals 1351
- On the Gait of Animals 1363
- On the Generation of Animals, Book I 1381
- On the Generation of Animals, Book II 1412
- On the Generation of Animals, Book III 1444
- On the Generation of Animals, Book IV 1469
- On the Generation of Animals, Book V 1496
- Part 5; Metaphysics 1516
- Part 6; Ethics and Politics 1748
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book I 1749
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book II 1766
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book III 1779
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book IV 1799
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book V 1817
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book VI 1836
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book VII 1851
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book VIII 1872
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book IX 1890
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book X 1907
- Politics, Book I 1925
- Politics, Book II 1943
- Politics, Book III 1970
- Politics, Book IV 1997
- Politics, Book V 2023
- Politics, Book VI 2053
- Politics, Book VII 2065
- Politics, Book VIII 2091
- The Athenian Constitution 2102
- Part 7; Aesthetic Writings 2156