In Aristotle s metaphysics, how forms and materials change5

1. Overview of Metaphysics The book Metaphysics is the most important part of Aristotle's writings, which is Aristotle's summary of the philosophical thoughts of the philosophers, focusing on their methods of the original problem of the world. The book Metaphysics is the most important part of Aristotle's writings. The book consists of 14 volumes and 142 chapters.

The title of Metaphysics is not mentioned by Aristotle, but has been added by later generations according to its contents. There are two explanations for the title of this work: one is that when Andronico was compiling Aristotle's collected works in 60 and 50 B.C., he compiled his works on natural things (i.e., things that we can feel about changes in motion) and named them "Physics"; Another part of the work that deals with more abstract things is put together and placed at the back of "Physics", and there is no name for it, so it is called "After Physics".

Aristotle called his own idea the "First Philosophy," indicating that it was superior to other sciences that studied concrete things. Chinese translates "After Physics" as "metaphysics". Metaphysics here refers to the study of existence, abstract things, which are not the same thing as the metaphysical way of thinking that we usually understand as isolating, static, and looking at problems one-sidedly.

Another theory is that because Aristotle called "physics" the "second philosophy" in his book, Clement Alexandrino interpreted the "first philosophy" in Aristotle's work as "superphysics", that is, metaphysics. There is now a general preference for the former. Aristotle's Metaphysics was compiled by later generations, and there are many repetitions and contradictions in form and content, as well as inappropriate connections between the previous and subsequent volumes, some of which are obviously from different periods, and some may be the handwriting of his students.

There is also an ancient record that says that the Metaphysics has only 10 volumes, but what we see now is 14 volumes, of which the volumes may have been early works. However, there are different views in the academic community on this point. …

According to Aristotle, the only thing that has no material for the form is ().

a.Knowledge. b.Aesthetic.

c.Morality. d.Thought.

Correct answer: d

Aristotle's theory of form is the opposite of Plato's theory of type. He argues that the "form" of a certain class is a characteristic common to all classes.

It is present in things, i.e., characteristics. For example, chickens are chickens because they have the characteristics of chickens – for example:

Chickens lay eggs. Therefore, the real chicken and the form of the chicken are as inseparable as the body and the soul.

After criticizing Plato's theory of rationality, Aristotle argued that the reality of the Middle Enlightenment is composed of various things that have their own forms and materials in harmony. "Material" is the material of which things are composed, and "form" is the individual characteristics of each thing.

As for the way in which form and material are combined, Aristotle appeals to teleology. In his view, nature itself, like an artifact, also has the meaning of the purpose of the earth, "the kind of reason that nature belongs to for the sake of something". "Nature is a cause, a cause that acts for a purpose".

In the things that arise naturally, this purpose is manifested in the pursuit and tendency of the material to the form, but it is not the material that actively pursues, but the form that gives shape to the material and makes itself realize in the material. Therefore, for naturally occurring things, form is the goal, the material is the passive possibility, and the form is the active reality. Form is not an abstract and rigid form (as in the case of "formalism"), but an active activity (formative activity).

For example, the form of a tree is the purpose pursued by the tree from seed to growth. When it has not yet grown into a tree, the purpose is "potential" in the seed, and after it grows, the purpose (form) is "realized". So the form, as the purpose of things, seems to come after the material (as the result), but in fact precedes the material (as the motive).

The entity has the following characteristics: first, the entity is a concrete, individual thing, "this one", not an abstract and universal thing;

Secondly, an entity is different from an attribute in that it has nothing contrary to it, for example, an attribute opposite to "big" is "small", an attribute opposed to "good" is "bad", but nothing is associated with "Socrates."

Opposite; Thirdly, there is no difference in degree between entities, that is, no entity is more entity than another, for example, we cannot say that "Zhang San" is more entity than "Li Si";

In the end, the entity is the same in the midst of change, and Socrates is Socrates whether he is black or white, young or old. Socrates' specific attributes can vary, but as an entity they are consistent.

According to Aristotle, the form and the material of things are mutually incompatible, and for the things of the lower level are things of form, and for the things of the higher level they are the materials. For example, bricks and tiles are in the form of clay (which is the material of bricks and tiles) and at the same time the material of houses, which are in the form of bricks and tiles, but are also the materials of the streets. In this way, the whole universe forms a unified sequence of alternating ascent from material to form, and the higher things not only constitute the form of the lower things, but also the driving force and purpose that pushes or attracts the lower things to develop and rise to themselves.

In Aristotle's view, the form of things is relative to the material, and for the things of the lower level are things of form, and for the things of the higher level they are the materials. For example, bricks and tiles are in the form of earth (clay is the material of bricks and tiles) and at the same time the material of the house, and the house is in the form of bricks and tiles, but it is also the material of the street.