What is hylemorphism?

What Does hylemorphism Mean

The etymology of hylemorphism leads us to two words in the Greek language: hýlē (which can be translated as "matter" ) and morphḗ (referring to "form" ). The concept alludes to a theory developed by Aristotle , who argued that the body is composed of form and matter .

For this philosopher of Ancient Greece , form and matter are the essential principles of every body . Material objects always have a form, while form has matter as its substrate. Hylemorphism is based on the fact that there is no form without matter or matter without form .

It can be said that hylemorphism is an explanation offered from philosophy about the constitution of bodies. It is important to keep in mind that the concept transcends the merely physical.
Hylemorphism ensures that corporeal substances are governed by particular principles. They are not made up of other complete substances, neither spiritual nor material. In developing this theory, Aristotle set out to delve into the link between the body and the soul .
There are those who understand hylemorphism as a response to Platonism . Plato's doctrine did not postulate the existence of a unity between form and matter, but affirmed that materiality is nothing more than a copy of the world of ideas and that the soul exists independently of the body and eternally.
On the contrary, hylemorphism proposed that all beings have form and matter. In this way there is no separation between soul and body , since they are a unit . Being, in short, is made up of the formal and the material.