Philosophy of Being and Knowledge

Metaphysics (Philosophy of Being)

Form and Matter

According to the theory of causes, the material and formal causes, upon the emergence of a substance, become its constituent elements. This means that every substance comprises both form and matter. Since a substance cannot exist without these two elements, they must be analyzed in metaphysics. There are two main distinctions between form and matter:

• Form is that aspect of a substance which the human mind apprehends. When one attempts to describe an object, one describes aspects of its form (such as dimensions, geometric shape, color, and other characteristics). All these attributes pertain to the form of the substance. Matter, however, is not apprehended by the mind but postulated; the mind cannot grasp the characteristics of matter because matter has no characteristics of its own but allows for the assumption of its existence as the form the mind apprehends requires a carrier. Since the existence of matter is reached exclusively through the mind and cannot be observed in experience, the concept of matter was critiqued by the empiricists of the Enlightenment, who believed that only that which can be observed in experience truly exists.
• Matter cannot exist without form. It is inconceivable to even hypothesize the existence of matter devoid of any form. Everything that exists possesses some physical or chemical characteristics and thus has form. Form, on the other hand, can exist both in connection with matter and independently of it. For example, a square exists not only in square objects but also in the minds of those who understand what a square is. As a pure form, a square will continue to exist even if no square objects are present in the world.

Form and matter are closely linked to actuality and potentiality. Actuality is what a thing is, i.e., its form. For instance, if something is a table, it means that it has all the characteristics of a table. Matter, however, is potentiality, as matter has the capacity to take on different forms. For example, if a carpenter transforms planks into a table, it means that he destroys one form and gives the matter a new form. Form never changes: a square will always remain a square, and a triangle will always be a triangle. Only material substances, i.e., objects containing matter, change. Matter can, however, change its forms. Thus, a substance has actuality because it has form, and has potentiality because it has matter. To actualize a potentiality means to give a substance a new form.

If forms are immutable, they embody absolute truths. There are no circumstances under which the color red becomes green, though it is not unusual for a red object to be painted green; a square will never become a triangle, though a square object can easily be transformed into a triangular one; under no circumstances will good become evil, although a person may act with good or evil intentions depending on the circumstances. Without immutable and absolute truths, neither science nor morality would be possible.