Core and Periphery

Paper Summary:

This paper explains Aristotle's assertion that 'substances' do not contain a 'more' or a 'less'. The paper challenges this assertion using psychology's prototype theory. The paper examines the theory that attempts to explain how we recognize objects and contends that it could be used to categorize substances in such a way that it does admit for "a more or a less". The author argues that 'more' and 'less' are indeed useful for comparing members of a 'substance' as they are analogous to 'core' and 'periphery'.

From the Paper:

"Before countering Aristotle, it is necessary to understand what he meant when he wrote: "Substance, it seems, does not admit of a more and a less" (Ackrill 10). To begin with, we have a substance, or any singular item, and this item is categorized according to its features and/or behaviors. For example an individual sparrow can be categorized as a bird, as can every bluebird, or robin etc.. By stating that there is not a substance that is "a more" or "a less" what Aristotle is essentially saying for these birds is that each is just as much a member of its category as the next, with no single substance (or bird in this example) providing a better example of the features that are the essence of 'birdness'. In his own words he further clarified: "any given substance is not called more or less that which it is" (Ackrill 10); it either is, or it is not, with no ranking of substances in the same species. From this perspective there is no "more" or "less" bird in a chicken, then there is in an ostrich or whatever other bird one might respectively choose."

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