Aristotle on Metaphysics

358 Pages·2004·1.2 MB·English

by  Vasilis Politis

Routledge Philosophy Guide Book to
Aristotle and the Metaphysics
‘This is an excellent book, written with great lucidity and engaging the
reader directly with the problems of Aristotle’s Metaphysics… The book
reads with ease, even at the most difficult of stages. I found it positively
enjoyable to read.’
Mary Margaret McCabe, Kings College, London
‘[This book] is well written and philosophically acute. It will prove a most
worthwhile addition to the series, and will be helpful for undergraduates
and graduates taking options in Aristotle’s Metaphysics.’
David Charles, Oxford University
Aristotle is perhaps the most important figure in Western philosophy and
his Metaphysics is a benchmark in the history of philosophy.
Aristotle and the Metaphysics introduces and assesses:
• Aristotle’s life and the background to the Metaphysics
• The ideas and text of the Metaphysics
• The continuing importance of Aristotle’s work to philosophy.
Vasilis Politis is lecturer of philosophy at Trinity College Dublin.
Routledge Philosophy Guidebooks
EDITED BY TIM CRANE AND JONATHAN WOLFF
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON
Aristotle and the Metaphysics Vasilis Politis
Rousseau and the Social Contract Christopher Bertram
Plato and the Republic, Second edition Nickolas Pappas
Husserl and the Cartesian Meditations A.D.Smith
Kierkegaard and Fear and Trembling John Lippitt
Descartes and the Meditations Gary Hatfield
Hegel and the Philosophy of Right Dudley Knowles
Nietzsche on Morality Brian Leiter
Hegel and the Phenomenology of Spirit Robert Stern
Berkeley and the Principles of Human Knowledge Robert Fogelin
Aristotle on Ethics Gerard Hughes
Hume on Religion David O’Connor
Leibniz and the Monadology Anthony Savile
The Later Heidegger George Pattison
Hegel on History Joseph McCarney
Hume on Morality James Baillie
Hume on Knowledge Harold Noonan
Kant and the Critique of Pure Reason Sebastian Gardner
Mill on Liberty Jonathan Riley
Mill on Utilitarianism Roger Crisp
Wittgenstein and the Philosophical Investigations Marie McGinn
Spinoza and the Ethics Genevieve Lloyd
Heidegger on Being and Time Stephen Mulhall
Locke on Government D, A.Lloyd Thomas
Locke on Human Understanding E.J.Lowe
Routledge Philosophy Guide Book to
Aristotle and the Metaphysics
Vasilis Politis
LONDON AND NEW YORK
First published 2004
by Routledge
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© 2004 Vasilis Politis
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic,
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invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
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in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from
the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Politis, Vasilis.
Routledge philosophy guidebook to Aristotle and the
Metaphysics/Vasilis Politis
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Aristotle—Metaphysics. 2. Metaphysics.
I. Title: Aristotle and the Metaphysics. II. Series:
Routledge Philosophy Guidebooks.
B424. P65 2004
110 22 2003058658
ISBN 0-203-64742-4 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-67345-X (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0-415-25147-8 (hbk)
ISBN 0-415-25148-6 (pbk)
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS x
1 Aristotle’s Metaphysics 1
1 What is the Metaphysics About? The Question, ‘What is Being?’ 1
2 Sources of the Question, ‘What is Being?’ 4
3 A Central Distinction in the Metaphysics: Being in General 9
versus Primary Being (prōtē ousia)
4 Three Candidates for Primary Being: The Particular; the 12
Universal; and the Essence
5 Does Aristotle Assume Essentialism in the Metaphysics? 16
6 The Structure and Unity of the Metaphysics 19
7 About this Companion to the Metaphysics 21
2 Metaphysics as the Science of the Ultimate Explanations of 23
All Things (Book I)
1 Metaphysics as the Science of the Ultimate Explanations and 23
Principles of All Things
2 How Explanatory Knowledge Differs from Sense Perception and 31
Experience
3 Aristotle’s General Conception of Explanations and Explanatory 38
Knowledge
i The search for explanations and what it is based on 38
ii The nature and requirements of explanations 42
iii The relation of metaphysics to the other sciences 48
vi
4 The Theory of the Four Basic Explanations and Causes of 50
Changing Things
i A summary of the theory 50
ii Aristotle’s conception of matter as potentiality 55
iii Aristotle’s review of his predecessors regarding the four basic 61
causes
3 Aristotle’s Method in Metaphysics (Book III) 64
1 Aristotle’s Method of Searching in Metaphysics: The Method 64
Based on Aporiai
2 The Source of the Aporiai in Metaphysics 75
3 The List of Aporiai and How they Structure the Metaphysics 79
4 A Brief Review of the Fifteen Aporiai 83
4 Metaphysics as the Science of Being Qua Being. Primary 90
Being versus Non-Primary Being (Books IV. 1–2 and VI.1)
1 Metaphysics as the Science of Being Qua Being 90
2 The Problem of How There Can Be a Science of Being Qua 94
Being; and the Solution in Terms of the Distinction Between
Primary Being and Non-primary Being
3 How Aristotle Introduces the Distinction Between Primary Being 103
and Non-primary Being
4 Primary Being as the Ultimate Subject of Predication: The 109
Theory of the Categories
5 Is Metaphysics About All Things, About Primary Being, Or 118
About God?
5 The Defence of the Principle of Non-Contradiction (Book 122
IV. 3–6, esp. 3–4)
1 Aristotle’s Characterization of the Principle of Non-contradiction 122
(PNC)
2 Aristotle’s Overall Aim in Considering PNC 126
3 Why PNC Cannot Itself be Demonstrated 128
4 Aristotle’s Conception of PNC as a Metaphysical Principle 132
vii
5 Is PNC Transcendental, i.e. is It True of Things Because it is 135
True of Thought?
6 How Can One Deny PNC? 138
7 The Consequences of Denying PNC: It is Impossible to Think and 146
Speak About Things
8 The Defence of PNC and the Defence of the View That Things 150
Have an Essence
9 Does Aristotle Succeed in Showing That There Are No True 153
Contradictions?
6 The Response to Phenomenalism and Relativism (Book 157
IV. 5–6)
1 How Phenomenalism and Relativism Present a Challenge to 157
Aristotle’s Defence of the Principle of Non-contradiction
Conceived as a Metaphysical Principle
2 The Characterization of Phenomenalism and Relativism 162
3 The Aim of Considering Phenomenalism and Relativism 166
4 The Relation Between Phenomenalism, Relativism, and the 169
Denial of PNC
i General 169
ii Tracing the source of phenomenalism and of the denial of PNC 172
iii A central consequence of phenomenalism and the denial of PNC: 179
relativism
5 How Far Does Aristotle Succeed in Defending PNC Conceived as 183
a Metaphysical Principle?
7 The Search for Primary Being (Book VII) 190
1 The Question at the Centre of the Metaphysics: ‘What is 190
Primary Being?’ (Prōtē Ousia, Often Simply Ousia) (VII. 1–2)
2 Initial Suggestions and Candidates for What Primary Being May 195
Turn Out to be (VII. 1)
3 Three Main Candidates for Primary Being: The Ultimate 198
Subject of Predication; the Universals; and the Essence (VII. 3)
viii
4 Primary Being and Separation (Ontological Independence) (VII. 200
1)
5 Aristotle’s Answer: Primary Being is the Essence of Each Thing 205
i A summary of Aristotle’s account of primary being 205
ii Primary being is not simply the ultimate subject of predication 209
(VII. 3)
iii What in general is the essence of each thing, and what things 215
have an essence? (VII. 4–5)
iv Primary being with regard to each thing is the essence of that 219
thing (VII. 1, 6 and 17)
v Primary being with regard to each thing is both (1) the essence of 223
that thing and (2) the ultimate subject of predication with
regard to that thing (VII. 6)
vi Primary being is changeless being (VII. 7–9) 232
vii Primary being with regard to each changing thing is its essence 239
and its form (VII. 10–12)
viii No universal is a primary being (VII. 13–16) 243
ix Is the essence and the form of each particular thing a universal, 253
a particular, or both?
x Primary being and the primary object of knowledge 256
8 The Ultimate Cause of Change: God (Book XII) 260
1 The Project of Book XII and its Place in the Metaphysics 260
2 Changing, Changeless, and Transcendent Things 265
3 The Ultimate Cause of Change, and the Outermost Heaven 269
4 The Argument for the Everlasting, Uniform, Circular Motion of 272
the Outermost Heaven
5 The Argument for the Ultimate Cause of Change 275
6 The Causation Distinctive of the Ultimate Cause of Change 278
7 The Ultimate Cause of Change as the Object of Thought and 282
Desire of the Cosmos
8 The Activity of the Ultimate Cause of Change: Thinking 284
ix
9 The Ultimate Cause of Change, and the Rational Order of the 292
Cosmos
10 Why Transcendence? 294
11 Is Aristotle’s God Relevant to the Basic Question of Metaphysics: 295
‘What is it for Something, Anything, to Be?’?
9 The Criticism of Plato’s Theory of Forms 298
1 Plato’s and Aristotle’s Shared Project: The Theory of Essence 298
2 Central Differences Between Plato’s and Aristotle’s Theories of 306
Essence
3 Aristotle’s Diagnosis of the Source of Plato’s Theory of Essences as 310
Separate Forms
4 The issue of Separation, and Different Types of Separation 316
5 Aristotle’s Criticism, Based on his Own Theory of Essence 321
6 Aristotle’s Criticism, Based on Plato’s Theory of Essence: The 326
Third Man Argument
7 Aristotle’s Criticism of Plato’s Separate Forms, and His Own 332
Separate God
Conclusion 334
FURTHER READING 336
BIBLIOGRAPHY 338
INDEX 344