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substance |
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substance, in philosophy, term used to denote the changeless substratum presumed in some philosophies to be present in all being. Aristotle defined substance as that which possesses attributes but is itself the attribute of nothing. Less precise usage identifies substance with being and essence. The quest of philosophers for the ultimate identity of reality led some to define substance as one (see monism monism (mō`nĭzəm) [Gr.,=belief in one], in metaphysics, term introduced in the 18th cent. ..... Click the link for more information. ). Frequently the monist has identified substance with God, an absolute existing within itself and creating all other forms (Spinoza). According to dualism dualism, any philosophical system that seeks to explain all phenomena in terms of two distinct and irreducible principles. It is opposed to monism and pluralism. In Plato 's philosophy there is an ultimate dualism of being and becoming, of ideas and matter. ..... Click the link for more information. there are two kinds of substance. Descartes, for example, held that mind and matter constitute the two kinds of finite substance. Others have defined substance as material (Hobbes) or mental (Lotze), as static (Parmenides) or dynamic (Heraclitus), as knowable (Aristotle) or unknowable (Hume). Kant argued that our cognitive faculties require that we conceive of the world as containing substance, i.e., something that remains constant in the face of continuous change. BibliographySee D. Wiggens, Sameness and Substance (1980). substance 1. material density 2. Philosophy a. the supposed immaterial substratum that can receive modifications and in which attributes and accidents inhere b. a thing considered as a continuing whole that survives the changeability of its properties 3. Christian Science that which is eternal How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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On one hand, this ambivalence is key: The question of how the experience of psychoactive substances such as MDMA or LSD relates to other unusual mind states is a vexed issue, one that echoes crucial contemporary concerns about simulation and the manufacture of subjectivity. Microgram's release was mostly unnoticed, and its reception has been subdued--so subdued that even the chemical underground, where people in years past might have found in the newsletter a wealth of knowledge about how to synthesize and distribute psychoactive substances, has hardly noticed it. The report, Neuroscience of Psychoactive Substance Use and Dependence, encourages an increasing awareness of the complex nature of substance dependence and supports cost-effective community-based prevention as well as treatment approaches that do not stigmatise patients. |
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