Substantial Knowledge: Aristotle's Metaphysics

Description

In this groundbreaking work, C D C Reeve uses a fundamental problem -- the Primacy Dilemma -- to explore Aristotle's metaphysics, epistemology, dialectic, philosophy of mind, and theology in a new way. At a time when Aristotle is most often studied piecemeal, Reeve attempts to see him both in detail and as a whole, so that it is from detailed analysis of hundreds of particular passages, drawn from dozens of Aristotelian treatises, and translated in full that his overall picture of Aristotle emerges. Primarily a book for philosophers and advanced students with an interest in the fundamental problems with which Aristotle is grappling, the book's clear, non-technical and engaging style will appeal to any reader eager to explore Aristotle's difficult but extraordinarily rewarding thought.

C D C Reeve is Professor of Philosophy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

C.D.C. Reeve has made a remarkable contribution to the study of Aristotle's metaphysics, not least because his interpretation restores Aristotle's theology to its central place. His book will be important reading not only for scholars engaged in debate about Aristotle's text, but also for the rest of us, because it is both an interpretation of Aristotle and a significant metaphysical inquiry in its own right. --Alasdair MacIntyre, Duke University A splendid book! Reeve's Substantial Knowledge contains a remarkably rich and detailed exploration of the primacy, both metaphysical and epistemological, of substantial being in Aristotle's theoretical philosophy. It not only provides an accessible introduction to the key texts and problems, but also challenges contemporary scholarship in its highly original exposition and defense of a holistic interpretation of the aims and content of Aristotle's metaphysical theorizing. --Alan Code, University of California, Berkeley Even scholars who have worked hard over decades on metaphysics in Aristotle will find much refreshment as well as much to learn in studying this book. This is not an ordinary working through, textbook fashion, of the established topics and the established texts, aimed at giving a thorough but traditionally conceived examination of Aristotle's metaphysics of substance. It is a completely fresh, independently motivated philosophical reading of lots and lots of Aristotelian texts, assembled in order to buttress an ongoing interpretative project, and quoted in full and then analyzed step by step in the surrounding discussion. I am sure that any reader will find the book a spirited and instructive effort to deal intelligibly with these often quite daunting materials. --John Cooper, Princeton University