Properties in ancient metaphysics /
This Element provides an overview of how the ancient thinkers (Anaxagoras, Plato and Aristotle) theorized about properties. Such overview puts in relief the inquiries, problems and solutions they were pursuing while engaged in dialogue with each other. It examines alternative philosophical perspecti...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge ; New York :
Cambridge University Press,
[2023].
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| Series: | Cambridge elements. Elements in ancient philosophy.
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| Subjects: |
| Summary: | This Element provides an overview of how the ancient thinkers (Anaxagoras, Plato and Aristotle) theorized about properties. Such overview puts in relief the inquiries, problems and solutions they were pursuing while engaged in dialogue with each other. It examines alternative philosophical perspectives existing in antiquity concerning the explanation of property qualification, qualitative similarity, compositeness and oneness. It further argues that although Plato was the first to conceptualize recurring universals, he did not reify them and did not admit them in his ontology; it was Aristotle who did, and developed his metaphysics around them. Aristotle, building on Plato's work, identified the metaphysical phenomenon of the instantiation of properties and developed an account for it. Finally, this Element outlines Aristotle's 'sophisticated' account of the oneness of a substance and argues that it was not hylomorphic. |
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| Physical Description: | 69 pages ; 24 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages [66]-69). |
| ISBN: | 1009101463 9781009101462 9781009475730 1009475738 |