Hylomorphism

Hylomorphism is Aristotle's theory that every physical thing is a composite of matter (hyle) and form (morphe) — where form is not a separate entity but the principle of organization that makes the thing what it is. The theory is an explicit rejection of both Platonic dualism and materialist reductionism, insisting that organization is as real and causally potent as the matter it organizes. Hylomorphism fell out of favor after the Scientific Revolution but has experienced a quiet revival in contemporary philosophy of mind, where philosophers like William Jaworski argue that mental states are structured manifestations of neural processes — form realized in biological matter, exactly as Aristotle proposed.\n\n