Aristotle's "Metaphysics"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, in Aristotle's "Metaphysics", his description of of the analogous relationship of definition and substance rests upon Aristotle's examination of substance as a unification of form and matter. The author points out that Aristotle believes that form makes possible sensibility but not the being of a thing, which is rooted in matter as well. The paper relates that Aristotle seeks to refute the belief that essential being is either matter or form by positing that the third option that they are one in their unity. The author underscores that to speak in an accidental manner of the being of a thing refers back to propositions or characteristics of the thing, never its essence. The paper concludes that proper definition, therefore, is to speak analogously of the being of things in their essence.

From the Paper:

"The statement 'Socrates is a rational animal' is a definition in the sense that it approaches the being of the thing that is Socrates according to what he is. Man as a rational animal is not a trait or feature, neither true nor false: it is the definition of 'man' in an essential sense. Likewise, the definition as a phrase unifies its parts into a conceptual whole which is neither additive nor subtractive. In commenting on Aristotle's treatment of numbers, Aquinas notes that "it is similar in the case of definitions and of the essence, which the definition signifies; because, however so small a part has been added or subtracted, there results another definition and another specific nature.""

Sample of Sources Used:

• Aquinas, St. Thomas. Commentary on Aristotle's Metaphysics. Trans. John P. Rowan. Notre Dame, Indiana: Dumb Ox Books, 1995.
• Aristotle. "Metaphysics." Commentary on Aristotle's Metaphysic., Trans. John P. Rowan. Notre Dame, Indiana: Dumb Ox Books, 1995.

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