Fr. James Brent, O.P., a philosopher and theologian, discusses the fundamental principles of nature according to Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas. He explores concepts like potentiality, matter, form, substance, accident, change, and the four causes, contrasting traditional philosophical views with modern scientific perspectives. The focus is on hylomorphism and the application of principles in understanding nature.
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Analysis by Principles
Aristotelian philosophy uses analysis by principles, not elements.
This means focusing on explanatory factors, not just breaking things into smaller parts.
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Potentiality and Matter
Change implies potentiality, the ability to be otherwise.
Aristotle equates matter with this potentiality, not fundamental particles.
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Substance and Accidents
Things change without losing their identity (e.g., a dog growing).
This implies a distinction between substance (what it is) and accidents (its features).
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This was one of the lectures from our 2019 Summer Science Conference, "Novelty in Nature: Scientific and Philosophical Understanding of Flux and Chance in the Natural World." For more info about upcoming TI events, visit: www.thomisticinstitute.org/events
Conference Theme:
Modern science consistently presents us with new and surprising truths about the natural world, particularly about how new things come to be, whether stars and galaxies, plants and animals, or chemical and physical structures. In many ways this creativity and flux in nature might seem antithetical to the classical picture of nature that Aquinas inherited from Aristotle. The theme for the second annual Thomistic Institute symposium on modern science and Thomistic philosophy, “Novelty in Nature: Scientific and Philosophical Understanding of Flux and Change in the Natural World,” touches on this question. Expert scientists and philosophers will discuss whether Thomistic philosophy is compatible with our modern scientific view of nature and how the two might enrich one another. The symposium is primarily intended for graduate students in the sciences and the philosophy of science and will include introductory sessions on basic of Thomistic philosophy of nature in its own day and in the history of science.
2019 Featured Speakers:
Karin Oberg (Harvard University), Robert Koons, (University of Texas), Fr. Nicanor Austriaco, (Providence College), Marissa March (University of Pennsylvania), Fr. James Brent, OP, (Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception), Thomas McLaughlin (St. John Vianny Theological Seminary), Matthew Gaetano (Hillsdale College), Dr. Brian Carl (Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception).
The Thomistic Institute