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SUMMARY:A biologically informed hylomorphism - Christopher Austin (Univers
 ity of Oxford)
DTSTART:20170308T130000Z
DTEND:20170308T143000Z
UID:TALK70724@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:31287
DESCRIPTION:Although contemporary metaphysics has recently undergone a \nn
 eo-Aristotelian revival wherein dispositions\, or capacities are now \ncom
 monplace in empirically grounded ontologies\, being routinely utilised \ni
 n theories of causality and modality\, a central Aristotelian concept \nha
 s yet to be given serious attention – the doctrine of hylomorphism.  \nT
 he reason for this is clear:  while the Aristotelian ontological \ndistinc
 tion between actuality and potentiality has proven to be a \nfruitful conc
 eptual framework with which to model the operation of the \nnatural world\
 , the distinction between form and matter has yet to \nsimilarly earn its 
 keep. In this paper\, I offer a first step toward \nshowing that the hylom
 orphic framework is up to that task. To do so\, I \nreturn to the birthpla
 ce of that doctrine - the biological realm.  \nUtilising recent advances i
 n developmental biology\, I argue that the \nhylomorphic framework is an e
 mpirically adequate and conceptually rich \nexplanatory schema with which 
 to model the nature of organisms.
LOCATION:Seminar Room 2\, Department of History and Philosophy of Science
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