Hylomorphism
Hylomorphism is a philosophical doctrine developed by the Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, which conceives every physical entity or being (ousia) as a compound of matter (potency) and immaterial form (act), with the generic form as immanently real within the individual.
Ed Feser
Edward Feser is a professor who teaches philosophy at Pasadena City College. He has written about and made many presentations on the defense of hylomorphism.
What is Matter? | Prof Edward Feser
8:00 9:40 Parmenides says nothing can change. Static monism. One reality. Things can never change, because that would be one being going out of existence, and another being coming into existence, because of "from nothing comes nothing" this can't happen. So in conclusion nothing can change.
10:42 Zeno paradox of the runner shows that motion is an illusion. If there are multiple things in the world, they must either have size or no size. If they have size they can be divided, but if they are divided into an infinite number of parts then they would be infinitely heavy which is nonsense. Zeno didn't understand that adding an infinite number of zeros can actually add up to some specific number greater than zero.
13:18 Water / ice. Ice potentially melts. Even if never actualized the potential of all future forms is still there in the water. P Claims ice can not turn into gasoline or grow legs.
- maybe potentiality IS nothing, but in fact the idea that something can come from nothing is actually what is going on.
14:21 Aristotle agrees with Parmenides. One kind of being changes from potentiality to actuality. Potentiality is not an actuality, but it is not nothing either, it is half way between. Change is the actualization of a potential.
- "change if the actualization of a potential" is an empty, meaningless statement. All you are saying is that when an actualization occurs, a potential had to have been there.