CLST 214 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Hylomorphism

• School: Queen's University
• Department: Classical Studies
• Course: CLST 214
• Professor: Daryn Lehoux

Document Summary

Aristotle begins to look more familiar (to modern philosophers) with to his understanding of the cosmos. Some thing come about from nature, others are artificially made by (cid:494)causes(cid:495): plants, animals (and their parts), the simple bodies (earth, air, fire, water) exist naturally. Nature is something that happens (motion: nature is also the properties something possesses, motion = change of place, size, quality. The first two make up hylomorphism (material form (cid:498)whatness(cid:499): final cause: why was the thing made, was is it(cid:495)s purpose? eg. why. Last two make up the teleological theory (the purpose of things (cid:498)making(cid:499)) But things can be used for other than their original purpose, things of won(cid:495)t: eg. a table does not have the potential to become a lizard so it the same material can be used for different things. Motion: grounded in the concepts of potential and actual: all that exists is a combination of form and matter.