Philosophy of Being and Knowledge

Metaphysics (Philosophy of Being)

Substance

The embodiment of transcendental concepts is the existent, individual entities, which are referred to as substances. A substance is anything that exists and can be described by a single term. For instance, a person, a tree, a planet, a constellation, or a table are all substances, each being a distinct thing. The term "substantia" is Latin for "foundation." Substances are classified into primary and secondary categories. The primary substance is anything that exists in reality. The secondary substance is a reflection of the primary substance in the mind, a general concept resulting from the mind's engagement with the primary substance. The mind operates with secondary substances, but their emergence depends on the primary ones. Since substances, as units of being, correspond to concepts, as units of thought, they can be divided into the same types as concepts are in logic.

A substance is expressed through its external characteristics, known as accidents. Substances can only be known through these accidents. For example, when someone sees a table (a substance), they are actually perceiving the table's accidents (its dimensions, color, etc.). Knowing a substance means knowing its accidents, and knowing the accidents means knowing the substance they express. This is why in everyday language, statements about a substance and statements about its accidents often carry the same meaning. For instance, the sentences "I hear the singer" and "I hear the singer's voice" are equivalent. A substance cannot exist without its accidents; if all its accidents are removed, the substance would disappear. The object of knowledge is the accidents; the substance is postulated by the mind based on the knowledge of these accidents.

Aristotle developed the classical system for classifying accidents. He believed that all accidents could be divided into ten categories:

1. The first category is substance, i.e., the fact of being something;
2. The second category includes all quantitative characteristics of the substance;
3. The third category encompasses all qualitative characteristics of the substance;
4. The fourth category involves the relation of the substance to others;
5. The fifth category covers any action performed by the substance;
6. The sixth category refers to any action directed at the substance;
7. The seventh category pertains to the substance's location or place;
8. The eighth category deals with the time of the substance's existence;
9. The ninth category concerns the internal structure of the substance;
10. The tenth category includes everything that the substance possesses.