Posted by trey on December 12, 19101 at 11:31:51:
In Reply to: Re: Aristotle's Concept of Substance posted by phil o soph on December 15, 19100 at 06:49:41:
: : : : what does aristotle mean by the term substance and do you find his concept of a prime mover compatable or incompatable with his ysis of substance and why?
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Substance in its most basic sense (for Aristotle) is that which something is. A horse is a substance, a rock is a substance, a chair is a substance, and so on. However, for Aristotle, universals are substances as well, and are actually higher substances. So rockness and chairness are substances. This is the genus-species distinctions that Aristotle harps on.
I am not sure that Aristotle's prime mover is contingent on accepting his conception of substance. The prime mover as a substance is different both from rocks and from universals as substance, so it seems one could accept the prime mover as the only substance, and for the rest of existence accept a process view of reality. The prime mover arguments ride on one's not accepting an infinite regress. Regardless of your metaphysics on the nature of entities, if you do not accept infinite regresses, then inevitably you will have to posit something that does the work of Aristotle's prime mover. Minimially you will probably have something very much like Aristotle's prime mover, although you can of course add characteristics, i.e. Aquinas.
Really you need to be more specific about your question. I took a whole semester cl on Aristotle's conception of substance, and it pretty much takes a semester worth of lectures to get a good working understand on the most basic level of Aristotle's philosophy. I would suggest reading the metaphysics and several sections of the physics. I cannot remember right off hand, but I know book 7 is definitly one in the metaphysics that you want to read. And I believe book 2 of the physics also. Also, try the cambridge companion to Aristotle, as well, you can look up Arisotle in the encyclopedia of philosophy (not the crap ones on the internet, but the real one that is in your local or college library).
Good luck!