Aristotle's Metaphysics

Catalog description

Aristotle called his Metaphysics by various names: “wisdom” (sophia), “first philosophy,” “the study of being qua being,” and “theology.” Do these names specify one project or more than one? How does the study of being qua being differ from the special sciences, such as physics, biology, arithmetic, and geometry? What is substance (ousia)? Why and how is substance prior to other things? How should we understand Aristotle’s hylomorphism, the composition of things out of matter and form? What are Aristotle’s four causes and especially highest causes? Are primary things particulars or universals? In addition to reading and discussing much of Aristotle’s Metaphysics, we will read some secondary texts by Aristotle and recent secondary sources. All readings are in translation. The class combines lecture and discussion.