Research On The Origin Of Substance Concept And The Contemporary Development Of Substance Theory

Unlike the "ancient" concepts invented by later generations,such as "theory of substance and form" and "theory of integration","entity"(ο(?)σ(?)α、substantia、substance),as a truly ancient concept,has a history almost as long as philosophy itself.Corresponding to its history is the complex evolution of its meaning.This article aims to explore two issues: what is " substance ";What are the physical issues.This article will take the evolution of the concept of substance as the starting point,grasp the main thread of substance issues,and investigate the core contemporary substance theory based on clarifying the concept of substance and substance issues.The author believes that substance is not equal to essence,and essence is substance;substances are not equal to existence,they are the manifestation of existence,represented as " this one " and " what it is ";substances are not transcendental,attribute free,innate beings,but rather specific,experiential processes of generation.This article will attempt to explain that " substance " has a continuous meaning from ancient times to the present.Although modern and contemporary philosophers try to avoid using " substance ",they cannot completely cancel or restore " substance ".The first chapter examines the concept of substance from ο(?)σ(?)α The evolution process of words before the modern philosophy of SUBSTANCE,and the Chinese academic circles ο(?)σ(?)α Some discussions on translation.In Aristotle’s theory,he believed that ο(?)σ(?)α Yes ποκε(?)μενον,That is,the main body.The godfathers represented by Augustine advocated that ο(?)σ(?)α It is translated as essentia(essence),which is said by later generations οκε(?)μενον Translate it into "substance"(hereafter referred to as "substance"),both of which have their own reasons.However,SUBSTANTIA stressed that ο(?)σ(?)α As one side of the support of duality,that is,the carrier.In Aristotle’s theory,the real carrier is the material,which obviously lays a hidden danger for the later differentiation.Form and material are one and two sides of the substance.Form is the first and material is the second.The two cannot be separated.Form is reality,material is potential,and substance is the generation process from potential to reality.The second chapter makes a pragmatic analysis of " substance " and examines the meaning of the concept of substance in different philosophical fields.The first three sections examine the meaning of " substance " written by philosophers in more than 1000 years after Aristotle and before Locke.The author believes that the " substance " mentioned by philosophers before Locke contains the meaning of subject and carrier at the same time.However,this point has changed in Locke’s view.Locke believes that the basis on which things really exist is the matrix,that is,the carrier without attributes.The fifth and sixth sections examine two kinds of anti-substance theories-process philosophy and relativism,which advocate deconstruction of the traditional concept of substance.The seventh section examines the meaning of " substance " in contemporary ontology and whether "substance " has been cancelled or restored.The third chapter examines the problem domain of generalized substance,that is,the problem of substance itself and a series of problems derived from it,and attempts to explore the answer to the problem of generalized substance contained in Aristotle’s theory under the framework of analytical ontology.Just as Aristotle believed that existence is a polysemous word with substance as its core meaning,the traditional substance problem is a series of problems raised around the substance concept,such as identity problem,commonality problem,composition problem,etc.These grand problem fields in contemporary ontology together constitute the traditional substance problem field.The fourth chapter examines the discussion of contemporary philosophers about the single substance problem in a narrow sense,that is,the problem of the basic form of existence.There are four types of answers to the basic existential patterns in contemporary substance theory.They are in fact different choices of three existential patterns: commonality,matrix and attribute instance.The realism represented by Armstrong acknowledges the existence of commonness and otherness,and denies the existence of attribute instances.The monism of attribute instances,represented by Campbell,holds that only attribute instances are basic,commonality should be canceled,and objects should be restored to attribute instances.The matrix theory represented by Martin is in favor of the existence of attribute instances and matrix,and denies the existence of common phase.He believed that things were composed of bare matrix and attribute instances without attributes,which followed Locke’s tradition of matrix theory.The new Aristotelian category diversity theory,represented by Lloyd’s,believes that common,special and attribute instances exist,and we should not be so stingy in the form of existence,which has resulted in ontology contraction in pursuit of minimalist monism.The fifth chapter examines the discussion of contemporary philosophers on the narrow compound substance problem,namely the constitution problem.According to the analysis in the first section of this chapter,we will find that the problem of composition is a complex problem,which involves the relationship between the whole and the part,the problem of persistence,the problem of synchronic identity,the problem of commonality and other problems related to substances.From this point of view,the author calls it the problem of complex substances.Contemporary analytical ontology divides sub-problems involving substances into different sub-problem domains and tries to break them down one by one.The classical integral theory is the result of this solution.According to the latest development of mathematical logic and based on a few basic principles,philosophers have constructed a relatively stable logical system,and on this basis put forward solutions to the problem of composition.The theoretical logic of classical integral theory has led it to four-dimensionalism,which is a set of ontological picture of space-time atomism,and seems to be supported in science.However,when we make a holistic study of classical integral theory and four-dimensional theory,their shortcomings are exposed: they have sharp contradictions with our common sense.The sixth chapter analyzes the answers of contemporary metaphysical philosophers to the problem of compound substance.The first section of this chapter will carry out some general understanding of the contemporary theory of quality and form,put forward the division standard between the theory of quality and form and the theory of non-quality and form,as well as the basic proposition of the theory of quality and form.The second section demonstrates that the theory of quality and form conforms to the basic framework of contemporary physics,and we have sufficient reasons to re-emphasize the theory of quality and form in contemporary ontology.The third and fourth sections of this chapter will respectively investigate several main forms of contemporary metaphysics.Contemporary metaphysical philosophers have absorbed the essence of analytical ontology research,and reconstructed the traditional metaphysics in combination with the classical holistic theory and scientific development achievements to meet the needs of contemporary substantive research.