YOU DON’T NEED PRIME MATTER: WELCOME RIGID-KOOKY OBJECTS

• Authors: Aguisoul Youssef
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The problem of destructive change comprises two interrelated questions: (1) Is there destructive change? (2) If there is, what underlies it? Classical hylomorphists argue that there is destructive change, understood as the change of primary substances, and that what underlies it is prime matter. Insofar as there is destructive change, I agree with classical hylomorphists. But there are reasons to doubt that prime matter is the underlying substratum, so I disagree with them with respect to (2). Alternatively, I propose a new version of classical hylomorphism, according to which what underlies destructive change, understood as the change of what I term “rigid-kooky” objects, is primary substance. My proposal has at least two perks. Compared to the classical account, it is relatively tolerant because it denies the historically contentious and ambiguous notion of prime matter. It is also economical because, unlike the classical account, which admits two constituency levels—one pertaining to primary substances and one to kooky objects—it admits only one constituency level, pertaining to kooky objects.

Keywords

EN

HYLOMORPHISM; PRIME MATTER; ACCIDENTAL UNITIES

• Publisher: Institute of Philosophy of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and Institute of Philosophy of Academy of Sciences of Czech Republic
• Journal: Organon F. medzinárodný časopis pre analytickú filozofiu
• Year: 2025
• Volume: 32
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 50 – 167

Contributors

author

Aguisoul Youssef

• University of Lisbon, Cidade Universitária, Alameda da Universidade, 1649-004 Lisboa, Portugal

• https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0377-8857

Identifiers

DOI

https://doi.org/10.31577/orgf.2025.32202