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The Meaning of ' Nature ' in the Aristotelian 

 Philosophy of Nature 



SOINIETIMES there are many things in a word. If such is 

 the case, it is to the philosopher's advantage to trace 

 out the relation between the various meanings of a word, 

 insofar as the later and secondary significations are to be more 

 fully understood only when seen in the light of a primary im- 

 position, first and best known to us. The extension of the word 

 to include further meanings retaining the relationship to this 

 first and most known can be for the human mind a safeguard 

 from meaningless abstractions and a reminder of the principles 

 and trajectory of our knowing. At the same time, if the order 

 is not seen, the extension can be a source of confusion and 

 error. 



The advantage of bearing this order in mind and the danger 

 of ignoring it are of particular importance in the case of the 

 word nature; for although it is one of the most common terms 

 in philosophy, many of its possible significations have yet to be 

 explored more fully. The purpose of this article, accordingly, is 

 twofold: (1) to trace out some of the more important meanings 

 of this word with a view to determining its particular use in 

 the Aristotelian and Thomistic philosophy of nature, and (2) 

 to show that even this particular meaning is continually modi- 

 fied within the science of nature. Our order of procedure shall 

 be as follows: I. After a preliminary review of the meanings of 

 nature given by Aristotle in Book V of his Metaphysics, we 

 shall turn to his Physics in order to determine more explicitly 

 which of these meanings are proper to philosophy of nature. 

 II. Next we shall develop certain implications of the definition 

 of nature given in the Physics by detailing various ways in 

 which nature can be taken as either an active or a passive 

 principle. HI. Finally we shall examine the extended meanings 

 that the word nature assumes as philosophy of nature is ela- 

 borated. To my knowledge the possibility of this progressive 



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