Matter and Form
In Aristotle's writings, matter (hyle) is a relative term, for example, clay might be the matter of some brick, which in turn, become the proximate matter of a house. Aristotle defines X's matter as "that out of which" X is made. For example, letters are the matter of syllables.
Change is analyzed as a material transformation: matter is what undergoes a change of form. For example, consider a lump of bronze that's shaped into a statue. Bronze is the matter and the forms (literally, shapes) are lump and statue.
According to Aristotle's theory of perception, we perceive an object by copying its form with our sense organs. Thus, forms include complex qualia like colors, textures and flavors, not just shapes.
Read more about this topic: Hylomorphism
Famous quotes containing the words matter and/or form:
“Besides, no matter how much I might speak to Gilberte, she would not hear me. We always believe that, when we speak, it is our ears, our mind that listen.”
—Marcel Proust (1871–1922)
“I had very good dentures once. Some magnificent gold work. It’s the only form of jewelry a man can wear that women fully appreciate.”
—Graham Greene (1904–1991)