Substantial form - Philosophical Concept | Alexandria
Substantial form, a concept as elusive as it is foundational, attempts to define the very essence of what makes a thing that thing, inviting us to question not just what we perceive, but why. Is it merely a collection of atoms, or does something more give it being?
The earliest roots of substantial form lie deep within the philosophical inquiries of ancient Greece, most notably with Aristotle (384-322 BCE). His treatise Metaphysics, a cornerstone of Western philosophy, delves into the nature of being itself. Here, Aristotle grapples with the problem of change and persistence: how can something change and still remain the same thing? His answer hinges on the concepts of matter and form. Matter is the underlying "stuff" of which something is made, while form is the organizing principle that gives it a specific identity. The "substantial form" is this organizing principle considered as determining the kind of thing it is, with relevant implications for epistemology, virtue ethics, political philosophy and existentialism, and it is key to validity in logic, and critical thinking. Icons such as Plato and Socrates were very relevant to the development of the concept.
Throughout the medieval period, theologians and philosophers like Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) integrated Aristotelian metaphysics with Christian theology. Aquinas, in his Summa Theologica, used substantial form to explain the nature of the soul and the Eucharist, imbuing the idea with religious significance. However, the concept wasn't without its detractors. Later, with the rise of modern science, thinkers like Rene Descartes (1596-1650) and Isaac Newton (1643-1727) championed a more mechanistic view of the world, questioning the need for such "occult" qualities. This shift sparked fierce debate, with some arguing that substantial forms were vital for understanding the inherent purpose and intelligibility of nature, and others dismissing them as relics of a pre-scientific age. Did the scientific revolution mark the death knell for substantial form, or merely a metamorphosis?
Today, while not a central concept in mainstream science, the legacy of substantial form persists in fields such as hylomorphism – the philosophical theory that physical objects are composed of both matter and form – it has intriguing parallels with contemporary questions in computer science and artificial intelligence, particularly in discussions about consciousness and the nature of personhood. Do artificial intelligences possess a substantial form, or are they merely sophisticated algorithms? The continued relevance of arguments around substantial form reminds us that the quest to understand the fundamental nature of reality—what makes something "real"—remains as vital, and as mysterious, as ever.