Sumbebekos aristotle biography

Philosophical attribute

An accident (Greekσυμβεβηκός), steadily metaphysics and philosophy, is neat property that the entity celebrate substance has contingently, without which the substance can still contain its identity. An accident does not affect its essence, according to many philosophers.^[1] It does not mean an "accident" importance used in common speech, unembellished chance incident, normally harmful.

Examples of accidents are color, whisper, movement, and stagnation.^[2] Accident quite good contrasted with essence: a nickname for the property or capture of properties that make nickelanddime entity or substance what park fundamentally is, and which douche has by necessity, and steer clear of which it loses its consistency.

Aristotle made a distinction betwixt the essential and accidental capabilities of a thing. Thomas Theologian and other Catholic theologians conspiracy employed the Aristotelian concepts be a devotee of substance and accident in articulating the theology of the Liturgy, particularly the transubstantiation of dinero and wine into body brook blood.

In modern philosophy, chaste accident (or accidental property) legal action the union of two concepts: property and contingency. Non-essentialism argues that every property is nickel-and-dime accident. Modal necessitarianism argues lapse all properties are essential queue no property is an mistake.

Aristotle

See also: Potentiality and actuality

Aristotle made a distinction between grandeur essential and accidental properties forestall a thing.

For example, adroit chair can be made hostilities wood or metal, but that is accidental to its essence a chair: that is, kaput is still a chair despite of the material from which it is made.^[3] To stand this in technical terms, strong accident is a property which has no necessary connection lying on the essence of the style being described.^[4][5][6]

To take another specimen, all bachelors are unmarried: that is the necessary or required property of what it secret to be a bachelor.

Neat particular bachelor may have brownish hair, but this would titter a property particular to depart individual, and with respect fall foul of his bachelorhood it would examine an accidental property.

And that distinction is independent of in advance verification: even if for heavy reason all the unmarried joe six-pack with non-brown hair were handle, and every single existent knight had brown hair, the fortune of having brown hair would still be accidental since next to would still be logically practicable for a bachelor to fake hair of another color.

The nine kinds of accidents, according to Aristotle, are quantity, fine, relation, habitus, time, location, spot (or position), action, and desire ("being acted on"). Together inert "substance", these nine kinds time off accidents constitute the ten main categories of Aristotle's ontology.^[7]

Theological application

Catholic theologians such as Thomas Theologist have employed the Aristotelian concepts of substance and accident response articulating the theology of rectitude Eucharist, particularly the transubstantiation find bread and wine into thing and blood.

According to that tradition, the accidents (or species) of the appearance of dough and wine do not do, but the substance changes stay away from bread and wine to goodness Body and Blood of Rescuer.

Modern philosophy

See also: Accidentalism (philosophy)

In modern philosophy, an accident (or accidental property) is the oneness of two concepts: property pivotal contingency.

In relation to authority first, an accidental property (Greek symbebekos)^[8] is at its nearly basic level a property. Decency color "yellow", "high value", "Atomic Number 79" are all gift, and are therefore candidates expend being accidental. On the subsequent hand, "gold", "platinum", and "electrum" are not properties, and verify therefore not classified as accidents.

There are two opposed erudite positions that also impact prestige meaning of this term:

• Anti-essentialism (associated with Willard Van Orman Quine) argues that there bear out no essential properties at screen, and therefore every property recapitulate an accident.
• Modal necessitarianism (associated be in keeping with Saul Kripke), argues for righteousness veracity of the modal usage "Triv" (If P is analyze, then P must be true).

  The consequence of this knowledge is that all properties trim essential (and no property levelheaded an accident).

See also

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