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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). |
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| We know that mind has the power to maintain substance even though it may not be able to create substance--the latter is still an open question. To sketch my meaning roughly, examples of substance are 'man' or 'the horse', of quantity, such terms as 'two cubits long' or 'three cubits long', of quality, such attributes as 'white', 'grammatical'. On the other hand, the proximity of an army causes prices to go up; and high prices cause the people's substance to be drained away. |
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substance
