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Nature is an inherent character or constitution, [1] particularly of the ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the laws, ...
Going further, the philosophical concept of nature or natures as a special type of causation - for example that the way particular humans are is partly caused by something called "human nature" is an essential step towards Aristotle's teaching concerning causation, which became standard in all Western philosophy until the arrival of modern science.
A nomological notion of human nature – "Human nature is the set of properties that humans tend to possess as a result of the evolution of their species." [ 95 ] Machery clarifies that, to count as being "a result of evolution", a property must have an ultimate explanation in Ernst Mayr 's sense.
A central dispute in the academic discourse about the nature of existence is whether existence is a property of individuals. [73] An individual is a unique entity, like Socrates or a particular apple. A property is something that is attributed to an entity, like "being human" or "being red", and usually expresses a quality or feature of that ...
Aristotle's Four Causes illustrated for a table: material (wood), formal (structure), efficient (carpentry), final (dining).. The four causes or four explanations are, in Aristotelian thought, categories of questions that explain "the why's" of something that exists or changes in nature.
Natural meaning had to do with cause and effect, for example with the expression "these spots mean measles". Non-natural meaning, on the other hand, had to do with the intentions of the speaker in communicating something to the listener.
Essence, nature, or substance in Christianity means what something is in itself and is distinguished from something's accidents (appearance). For example, according to transubstantiation, the eucharistic bread and wine appear to be bread and wine, but are in actuality - that is, in essence - Jesus' body and blood. [13]}} Another example is ...
Aristotle sought out the definition of "physis" to prove that there was more than one definition of "physis", and more than one way to interpret nature. "Though Aristotle retains the ancient sense of "physis" as growth, he insists that an adequate definition of "physis" requires the different perspectives of the four causes (aitia): material ...