Time

Fri 26 Jun 2026, at 15:00

Place

109, Building 3, Lee Shau Kee Humanities Hall

Speaker

LIU Kezhou, Chongqing University

Language

Chinese

Abstract

As one of the oldest and most enduring philosophical theories, hylomorphism has experienced a marked revival in several important domains of contemporary philosophy. Yet, as philosophers reconstruct the theory in different ways, a persistent and controversial question remains: does hylomorphism ultimately amount to nothing more than a form of “polite materialism”?

On the one hand, this lecture will examine several representative contemporary approaches to hylomorphism and argue that, to varying degrees, they all face the risk of reducing form to a kind of matter. On the other hand, it will explore how Aristotle’s own hylomorphic theory achieves a balance between the purity of form and the unity of form and matter. On this basis, the lecture will defend the possibility of hylomorphism as a distinctive theoretical framework in its own right.

     在当代哲学的一些重要论域中，作为一种历史悠久的理论，质形论（hylomorphism）正呈现出明显的复兴势头。然而，在哲学家们以不同方式重构这一理论的同时，质形论是否最终只是一种“温和的唯物主义”（polite materialism），始终是一个颇具争议的问题。本次报告一方面将考察当代具有代表性的质形论进路，指出这些进路在不同程度上都面临着将形式质料化的风险；另一方面，报告也将探讨亚里士多德的质形论如何在形式纯粹性与质形统一性之间取得平衡，并在此基础上辩护质形论作为一种独特理论方案的可能。