Aristotle's hylomorphism without reconditioning
Part of : Philosophical inquiry ; Vol.37, No.1-2, 2013, pages 7-24
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7-24
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A number of contemporary metaphysicians have recently argued that Aristotle's hylomorphism and its neo-Aristotelian versions need to be 'reconditioned' in order to be philosophically viable. In the first part of the paper I argue that these arguments in fact target only mereological hylomorphism, which is not Aristotle's; additionally, I submit, the proposed reconditioning opens up as many problems as it aims to solve.If mereological hylomorphism, as well as reconditioned mereological hylomorphism, are shown to be prey to difficulties, this is an important albeit indirect conclusion in support of Aristotle's own position. In the second part of the paper I investigate Aristotle's hylomorphism in its own right: I examine the metaphysical status of matter and form, and the unity of substance. I conclude that Aristotle's hylomorphism stands inneed of no reconditioning, contrary to what others have recently argued.
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References (1):
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