Aristotelian Metaphysics

Abstract Honouring the seminal influence of David Charles to philosophical scholarship, this volume offers fresh interpretations and assessments of Aristotle’s thinking in metaphysics and related areas such as philosophy of language, psychology, natural philosophy, and mathematics. Sixteen leading scholars and philosophers explore issues of enduring philosophical interest arising from close readings of Aristotle’s major works. Part I offers analyses of Aristotle’s account of definition by David Bronstein and Marko Malink, as well as contributions to contemporary philosophy of language, from an Aristotelian perspective, by Stephen Williams and the late Paul Snowdon. In Part II central issues in Aristotle’s understanding of essence and categories are taken up by Jennifer Whiting, Christof Rapp, and Michail Peramatzis, while Verity Harte examines Plato’s metaphysics of classification. Part III turns to Aristotle’s concepts of form, matter, and final causation. Mary Louse Gill, Lindsay Judson, and Thomas Johansen examine different aspects of his hylomorphism, while James Lennox discusses the place of the good in Aristotle’s teleology. In the final part, modality, change, and space are in focus. Kei Chiba examines Aristotle’s concepts of entelekheia (‘completeness’) and potentiality, Ursula Coope and Frank Lewis address Aristotle’s account of change, and Vassilis Karasmanis explores the discontinuity of space. The volume also contains an introduction and a list of David Charles’ publications.