Doing and Being: An Interpretation of Aristotle's Metaphysics Theta (Oxford Aristotle Studies Series)

382 Pages·2010·1.32 MB·English

by  Jonathan Beere

DOING AND BEING
OXFORD ARISTOTLE STUDIES
GeneralEditors
JuliaAnnasandLindsayJudson
PUBLISHED IN THE SERIES
DoingandBeing
AnInterpretationofAristotle’sMetaphysicsTheta
JonathanBeere
Space,Time,Matter,andForm
EssaysonAristotle’sPhysics
DavidBostock
AristotleonMeaningandEssence
DavidCharles
TimeforAristotle
UrsulaCoope
AristotleonTeleology
MonteRansomeJohnson
OnLocation
Aristotle’sConceptsofPlace
BenjaminMorison
OrderinMultiplicity
HomonymyinthePhilosophyofAristotle
ChristopherShields
Aristotle’sTheoryofSubstance
TheCategoriesandMetaphysicsZeta
MichaelV.Wedin
Aristotle’sDeInterpretatione
ContradictionandDialectic
C.W.A.Whitaker
Doing and Being
An Interpretation of Aristotle’s
Metaphysics Theta
JONATHAN BEERE
1
3
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Beere,JonathanB.,1974–
Doingandbeing:aninterpretationofAristotle’sMetaphysicstheta/JonathanBeere.
p. cm.–(OxfordAristotlestudies)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN 978–0–19–920670–4(alk.paper)
1. Aristotle.Metaphysics.Book9. I. Title.B434.B44 2009
110–dc22 2009024507
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ISBN 978–0–19–920670–4
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To my parents
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgements xii
I. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF METAPHYSICS THETA
1. PeacebetweentheGodsandGiants 3
1.1 Introduction 3
1.2 TheBattleoftheGodsandGiants 6
1.3 AristotelianDétente 11
1.3.1 AristotleandtheGiants 12
1.3.2 AristotleandtheGods 14
2. TheIntroduction toMetaphysicsTheta(Theta1) 19
2.1 TheProject 19
2.2 TheIndirectStrategy 23
2.3 What’stoCome 25
II. POWERS FOR ACTION AND PASSION
3. Powers(Theta1) 33
3.1 ‘Power’isSaidinManyWays 33
3.1.1 WhyThink‘Power’isSaidinManyWays? 37
3.1.2 HomonymousPowers 38
3.1.3 ThePrimaryUsage:Power 40
3.1.4 TheDerivativeUsages 42
3.1.5 Inability 49
3.1.6 OrdinaryGreek 50
3.2 CorrelativePowers 53
3.2.1 Sameness 54
3.2.2 Difference 56
3.2.3 Self-affectionandUnity 58
3.3 TheTheoryofPowers:Overview 60
viii Contents
3.4 Objections 61
3.4.1 PowersasDeterminateProperties 61
3.4.2 VacuousExplanation 63
3.4.3 PriorityofActivePowers 64
4. RationalPowers(Theta2) 69
4.1 SettingtheStage 70
4.2 OneofOne:Non-rationalPowers 73
4.3 OneofTwo:RationalPowers 78
4.3.1 Accounts 80
4.3.2 Opposites 82
4.3.3 Soul 86
4.3.4 Orientation 88
5. PowersandPossibilities:TheMegarics(Theta3) 91
5.1 TheMegaricView 93
5.2 AristotleAgainsttheMegarics 99
5.2.1 TheArtofHousebuilding 101
5.2.2 Non-rationalPowers 103
5.2.3 ThePossibilityofChange 109
6. Possibility andthe Future(Theta3and 4) 119
6.1 TheCriterionofPossibility 119
6.2 ‘WillNot’and‘Cannot’(Theta4) 124
6.3 ‘WillNot’and‘Cannot’inPlato’sTimaeus 133
6.4 FourVarietiesofBeingAble 135
7. TheExerciseofPowers(Theta5) 139
7.1 SomethingElseinControl 140
7.2 Desire 143
7.3 Interlude:Non-rationalPowersofAnimateCreatures 146
7.4 NecessityandInterference 147
7.5 LookingForward 150
III. BEING-IN-ENERGEIA AND BEING-IN-CAPACITY
8. Actuality, Activity, Ambiguity: Preliminary
Considerations onEnergeia 155
Contents ix
8.1 EnergeiaasActivityandActuality:TheTraditionalView 156
8.2 TheTraditionalViewRejected 158
8.3 ANewApproach 160
8.4 Orientation 161
8.4.1 TheEtymologyofEnergeia 161
8.4.2 SomeTellingUsesofEnergeia 163
8.4.3 PowersinMetaphysicsTheta 166
9. Being-in-Energeia(Theta 6) 169
9.1 IntroductoryLines 169
9.2 TwoWaysofBeing 171
9.3 Analogy:TheSemanticsofEnergeia 178
9.3.1 AnalogyintheBiologicalWorks 181
9.3.2 DefinitionandAnalogousUniversals 184
9.3.3 TheLogicofAnalogy 186
9.4 TheAnalogousCasesofEnergeia 189
9.4.1 TheHousebuilder 191
9.4.2 TheSleeperWakes 195
9.4.3 Seers 199
9.4.4 WhatHasBeenSeparatedOutFrom
theMatter 200
9.4.5 GettingWorkedUp 205
9.5 IndirectAnalogy 206
9.6 TheInfinite,theVoid,andSuch 208
9.7 Remark:SubstanceandEnergeia 210
9.8 EnergeiaContrastedwithActuality 211
9.8.1 OrdinaryEnglishandOrdinaryGreek 211
9.8.2 EnergeiaFallsWithintheScopeof
Actuality 213
9.8.3 ActualityandtheArgumentofTheta8 216
9.8.4 Diagnosis 217
9.9 EnergeiaandEntelekheia 218
10. Interlude: TheEnergeia-Kine¯sisDistinction
(Theta6) 221
10.1 ThePassageinItself 221
10.2 TheManuscriptEvidence 226