Aristotle's Metaphysics

The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell

I took a bit of a hiatus from this book and other history of philosophy books with the intention of reading everything written by Plato and then I would move on to Aristotle, then Augustine, then the next, etc., etc. Reading primary works alongside the histories. I've read a lot of Plato, but not every word and am now simply trying to clean up my "current reading list" on Goodreads. I want to finish the two history books and move on to another subject. I have a complete works of Plato that I'll get to someday.

Ch. XIX Aristotle's Metaphysics

In studying Philosophers one must study both who the influences of the philosopher were and who they influenced.

Russell criticizes many whom Aristotle influenced but puts the blame more on those individuals than on Aristotle, noting that any ancient philosopher would have wound up being saddled with criticism if Aristotle had been replaced by any other ancient philosopher as the one who became dogmatic in the hands of later philosophers.

"He came at the end of the creative period in Greek thought, and after his death it was two thousand years before the world produced any philosopher who could be regarded as approximately his equal" (Russell, 159).

Aristotle became a bedrock in Church theology and since the 17th century, "almost every serious intellectual advance has had to begin with an attack on some Aristotelian doctrine" (Russell, 160).

Aristotle was born circa 384 BC in Thrace. At 18 he became a pupil to Plato. In 343 BC he became the tutor to Alexander the Great.

Aristotle lived in Athens until the death of Alexander. He fled the city when the Athenians rebelled against Alexander's successors and died a year later.

Russell suggest that neither Augustine nor Alexander had much of an impact on each other.

Aristotle is very different to his predecessors, writing as a professor and not an inspired teacher. There is no Bacchic enthusiasm in Aristotle.

Aristotle's metaphysics is a combination of Plato and common sense.

Aristotle believed universals cannot exist by themselves but must exist in particular things.

Russell claims that Aristotle's theory of universals is not clear, but it was an advancement in human thought.

For Aristotle, a universal is something that can be predicated to many subjects, i.e. man, dog, cat. An individual is a particular thing, Chris, Gallifrey, Porch Kitty.

Aristotle's metaphysics also emphasizes "essences". This is what you are by your very nature, a property of which you cannot lose without ceasing to be yourself.

Both individual things and species of things have an essence.

Aristotle has an important distinction between form and matter. The form is what gives boundaries to the matter to make whatever you are observing a thing. The form gives unity to the matter. The unity has a teleological aspect to it in Aristotle.

"The form of a thing, we are told, is its essence and primary substance" (Russell, 166).

There is a scale of actuality and potentiality in Aristotle. That which has more form has more actuality.

The soul is the form of the body in Aristotle.

In Aristotle, God is pure form and pure actuality. There is no potentiality; thus, no change. God is immutable.

Three types of substances in Aristotle:
1) The sensible and the perishable (plants and animals)
2) The sensible but not perishable (heavenly bodies)
3) The non-sensible and non-perishable (God and man's rational soul)

Aristotle argues that God exists from the argument of First Cause

Aristatle has an eternal, most good God that men must love. But like Spinoza's God, Aristotle's God cannot love men.

Four Causes in Aristotle
1) Material - the Matter
2) Formal - the essence
3) Efficient - the agent that brings the change (only modern cause)
4) Final - the end goal (teleological)

"The unmoved mover may be regarded as a final cause: it supplies a purpose for change, which is essentially an evolution towards likeness with God" (Russell, 169).

God is the final (teleological) cause of all activity.

For Aristotle, the soul was the final cause of the body. He taught against the transmigration of souls, believed asking whether the soul and body were one was as meaningless a question as to whether the wax and the shape given to it by a stamp were one and believed that mind and soul were different.

Aristotle differentiates between mind and soul, granting the mind a higher place than soul.

The mind is implanted in the soul and incapable of being destroyed.

The mind can be immortal even if the rest of the soul is not.

The soul gives form to the body by making it a unit.

"It seems, from these passages, that individuality--what distinguishes one man from another--is
connected with the body and the irrational soul, while the rational soul or mind is divine and
impersonal." (Russell, 172).

The irrational part of us separates from each other but the rational part unites us. Aristotle taught that the rational mind takes part in the divine which is immortal. It is our duty and goal to take part in as much divine immortality as possible but if we were to achieve this wholly we would become part of the divine immortality and cease to be an individual.

Russell admits that there are other ways of interpreting Aristotle but believes his interpretation is the "most natural".