Aquinas's ontology of the material world : change, hylomorphism, and material objects / Jeffrey E. Brower.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brower, Jeffrey E.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Thomas, Aquinas, Saint, 1225?-1274.

Thomas.

Materialism.

Physical Description:

xxii, 327 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2014.

Summary:

What is the nature of the material world? And how are its fundamental constituents to be described? These questions are of central concern to contemporary philosophers, and in their attempt to answer them, they have begun reconsidering traditional views about metaphysical structure, including the Aristotelian view that material objects are best described as 'hylomorphic compounds'-that is, objects composed of both matter (hyle) and form (morphe). In this major new study, Jeffrey E. Brower presents and explains the hylomorphic conception of the material world developed by Thomas Aquinas, the most influential Aristotelian of the Middle Ages. According to Brower, the key to understanding Aquinas's conception lies in his distinctive account of intrinsic change. Beginning with a novel analysis of this account, Brower systematically introduces all the elements of Aquinas's hylomorphism, showing how they apply to material objects in general and human beings in particular. The resulting picture not only sheds new light on Aquinas's ontology as a whole, but provides a wholesale alternative to the standard contemporary accounts of material objects.

Contents:

Part I. Introduction: A Sketch of the Complete Ontology

Filling Out the Sketch

Part II. Change: Change in General

Substantial vs. Accidental Change

Part III. Hylomorphism: From Change to Hylomorphism

Hylomorphism as a Type of Substratum Theory

In Defense of Hylomorphism

Part IV. Material Objects: From Hylomorphism to Material Compounds

Types of Material Compound

Material Compounds vs. Material Objects

Part V. Complications: Non-Standard Changes and Forms without Substrata

Mind-Body Dualism

The Afterlife.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [314]-322) and index.

ISBN:

9780198714293

0198714297

OCLC:

886882260