What is the substratum persisting through generation and corruption according to Aristotle?

What is it about?

In the context of Aristotle’s metaphysics and natural philosophy, the term ‘prime matter’ refers to the material cause that is both the proximate material cause of the four sublunary elements and the ultimate material cause of all perishable substances. On the traditional view, prime matter is held to be pure potentiality, that is, without any determinate nature of its own. Against this view, I argue that prime matter must be physical, extended, and movable matter if it is to fulfil its roles as the substratum persisting through the generation and corruption of these four elements, the subject in which their defining properties are found, and the material cause that individuates formally identical instances of these elements.

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Photo by Tbel Abuseridze on Unsplash

Photo by Tbel Abuseridze on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Argues against the widespread view that for Aristotle the substratum persisting through generation and destruction must be purely potential, with no nature of its own.

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