Lesson 5 –
Against Physicalist Reductionism

Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas deny that matter with its properties and forces are an adequate explanation of the world. For all the material things of nature are shot through with form, and where there is form there is a manifestation of mind – a mind irreducible to one thing or all of them, yet permeating them all and suffusing them with form and working power. The forms of the things of nature are a manifestation of the mind of God, and matter is formed according to his wisdom, and his wisdom is formulated in the principles and laws of nature.

Course Reading

Aquinas, 36-37 | Eleonore Stump

Excerpt from Aquinas by Eleonore Stump:

“A macro-level material thing is matter organized or configured in some way, where the organization or configuration is dynamic rather than static. That is, the organization of the matter includes causal relations among the material components of the thing as well as such static features as shape and spatial location. This dynamic configuration or organization is what Aquinas calls ‘form’. A thing has the properties it has, including its causal powers, in virtue of having the configuration it does; the proper operations and functions of a thing derive from its form.”

Course Listening

Inorganic Substances: Chemical Form and Physical Matter | Prof. Robert Koons

Supplemental Aquinas 101 videos from Season 1

This episode was made possible through the support of a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this project are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.