Substance and accident, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Educational applications for mobiles

9. Substance and accident



  1. Substance and accidents

   Real being can be divided in several categories. According to Aristotle there are ten categories: substance, quantity, quality, action, passion, relation, position, habit, place and time.

   Every real being can be included in some of these categories: can be substance or quantity, or quality, etc.


   You can see all categories in the following sentence: The gentleman’s (relation) big (quantity) white (quality) horse (substance) neighs (action), is punished (passion) and gets saddled (habit) and lied down (position) in the yard (place) in the morning (time).


   The main category is substance, and all others are accidents.


   Substance is the being that is in itself, whereas accident is the being that is in another. Accident is in substance; in other words, substance serves as the subject of accidents. For instance: in a pen (substance) we can differentiate several accidents: size (quantity), colour (quality), the child to whom it belongs (relation), and if it is on the table (position).

  A. Choose the right letter: a, b, c. (If the letter turns into red the answer is correct)

  1. How many categories are there?

    a. eight
    b. ten
    c. twelve

  2. The main category is:

    a. substance
    b. quantity
    c. quality

 3. How many accidents are there?

    a. three
    b. six
    c. nine

 4. The being that is in itself is called:

    a. substance
    b. accident
    c. essence

 5. The being that is in another one is:

    a. substance
    b. accident
    c. essence

 6. Quantity is:

    a. substance
    b. accident
    c. essence

  2. Substance and acctidents’ properties

   Accidents are in substance. For instance: colour, size (accidents) are in pen (substance). On the contrary, substance is not in another subject, but in itself.

 Substances can be corporeal, incorporeal, complete and incomplete.

Corporeal substance cannot exist without material, such as pen, table, tree. Incorporeal or spiritual substance can exist without material, such as human soul. Complete substance is what is not destined to join another substance in order to exist, such as table, tree, pen. Incomplete substance is what is destined to join another substance to exist and act, such as human soul that has to be united to the body. Human soul is an incorporeal and incomplete substance.

  B. Choose the rigth letter: a, b, c.

  1. Accidents are in:

    a. substance
    b. quantity
    c. essence

  2. What is not in another subject is

    a. substance
    b. accident
    c. quantity

 3. A substance not existing without material is:

    a. corporeal
    b. spiritual
    c. incorporeal

 4. A substance existing without material is:

    a. accident
    b. corporeal
    c. incorporeal

 5. A substance not destined to join another one is:

    a. complete
    b. incomplete
    c. incorporeal

 6. A substance destined to join another one is:

    a. complete
    b. incomplete
    c. accident

  3. Individual and person

   Individual is complete substance, i.e., has subsistence, is in itself and acts. Some examples: a horse, a plant or a rock are individuals.

   If an individual has rational nature is named person. For instance: a woman.

   Accidents such as colour, size, etc. do not do anything, do not act, nor behave and so they are neither individuals nor persons. Only substances are individuals.

   Person is defined as individual substance with rational nature, or a being of rational nature. Persons are their owners, own their acts and have rights and duties. They are responsible for what they do because they are free.

  C. Choose the right letter: a, b, c.

  1. Individual is a substance:

    a. incomplete
    b. accident
    c. complete

  2. The person has a nature:

    a. rational
    b. vegetable
    c. mineral

 3. Individual with rational nature is named:

    a. incomplete
    b. person
    c. spiritual

 4. Colour and size are:

    a. accidents
    b. substances
    c. persons

 5. The being with rational nature is:

    a. accident
    b. spiritual
    c. person

 6. Rights and duties belongs to:

    a. substances
    b. persons
    c. accidents



 

  4. Consequences

   Education is not a being that exists in itself, but exists in men. Education modifies men qualitatively. So it is a quality, i.e., an accident. It is a habit manifested in conduct. Educating leads to good habits of thinking, feeling and behaving. Even though these habits are more or less rooted in subjects, passions can break good habits.

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®Arturo Ramo García.-Record of intellectual property of Teruel (Spain) No 141, of 29-IX-1999 Plaza Playa de Aro, 3, 1º DO 44002-TERUEL







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