亚里士多德“实体”观念的“矛盾”及求解

"Contradictions" of Aristotle's Concept of "Ousia" and the Solution

"实体"是亚里士多德哲学的核心范畴,也是西方哲学一直追寻的一个问题。文章回顾了实体观念的历史,阐述了《范畴篇》、《形而上学》中的实体思想,指出了这两大著作中实体思想存在许多看似"明显矛盾"的地方。进而,以"逻辑在先"为工具对此加以具体分析,指出亚里士多德的实体思想在逻辑上是一致的,即亚里士多德先是提出了个别"在先"论,认为一般只能存在个别之中;接着详细地阐述了形式与质料的学说,认为质料是一种潜能,形式则是一种现实,作为现实的形式在逻辑上是"先于"作为潜能的质料的,所以形式是"逻辑在先";最终,作为纯形式的"理性神"获得了最终极的"在先"性。

＂Ousia＂ constitutes the core of Aristotle＇s philosophy, and remains an issue that has been ex- plored in Western philosophy. This paper reviews the history of Ousia and the ideas formulated in Aristotle＇ s Categories and Metaphysics in regard to the concept, arguing that, judging from the point of view of ＂logical priority＂, the seemingly ＂obvious contradictions＂ on Ousia in the two works actually reflect Aristotle＇s logical consistency in the understanding of Ousia. In other words, Aristotle first puts forward the individual ＂priority＂ theory, maintaining that the general only exists in the individual; he then gives a detailed description of the theory of form and matter, arguing that the material is a potential and the form is a reality, and that, as the form as a reality is logically ＂riot＂ to the material as a potential, so the form is ＂logical priority＂ ; finally, he concludes that the ＂rational God＂ as a pure form gains the ultimate ＂priority＂.