Research Catalog

Title

Aristotle's theory of actuality / Zev Bechler.

Author

Bechler, Z.

Publication

Albany : State University of New York Press, [1995], ©1995.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

x, 270 pages; 24 cm.

Series Statement

SUNY series in ancient Greek philosophy

Uniform Title

SUNY series in ancient Greek philosophy.

Subject

• Aristotle
• Philosophy of nature

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 231-258) and index.

Contents

• Introduction: The Idea of Anti-Informationism -- Ch. 1. Aristotle's Explanation of Natural Motion. 1.1. The natural motion puzzle and the two potentialities. 1.2. The explanation of natural motion. 1.3. Logical causality and teleology -- Ch. 2. Logical Causality and Priority of the Actual: Consequences and Illustrations. 2.1. Coincidence, relationality and the ontology of potentiality. 2.2. The First Mover fiasco. 2.3. Substance and causality. 2.4. Logical determinism. 2.5. The continuum -- Ch. 3. Necessity, Syllogism and Scientific Knowledge. 3.1. Two kinds of necessity. 3.2. Deductive necessity and group inclusion. 3.3. Propositional necessary truth. 3.4. Deductive necessity and the circularity of the syllogism. 3.5. Accepting circularity 1: Syllogistic demonstration. 3.6. Nominalism and Aristotle's essentialism: Seeing the universal. 3.7. Aristotle's demon: Potentiality and the scientific syllogism. 3.8. Accepting circularity 2: Knowing that and what and why.
• 3.9. Convertibility and noninformativity. 3.10. Necessity by construction. 3.11. Objective identity and noninformativity. 3.12. Aristotle on noninformative questions. 3.13. Noninformativity and error -- Ch. 4. Inconsistent Potentials: The Philosophy of Mathematics. 4.1. Some conditions for a philosophy of mathematics. 4.2. The potentiality of mathematical objects. 4.3. The puzzle of the exactness of mathematics. 4.4. Qua and the relativity of the essence-matter distinction. 4.5. Construction and absolute potentiality. 4.6. Objections to a constructionist interpretation: (1) Annas. 4.7. Objections to a constructionist interpretation: (2) Lear. 4.8. Objections to a constructionist interpretation: (3) Hussey. 4.9. Intelligible matter: The triangle is neither a "this," nor a triangle, nor triangular. 4.10. The nondenotativity of mathematics according to Aristotle's philosophy: A short review. 4.11. The a priority of Aristotle's philosophy of essence and mathematics.
• 4.12. The formality and emptiness of mathematics according to Aristotle's philosophy. 4.13. The a priority of qua and the nature of mixed science. 4.14. Aristotle's concept of universal mathematics.

ISBN

• 0791422399 (alk. paper)
• 0791422402 (pbk. : alk. paper)

LCCN

94001045

OCLC

• 29671095
• ocm29671095

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries