ABSTRACT
Some philosophers are interested in the extremely general issue of just what there is in the world. First, metaphysically inclined philosophers are interested in the types of thing the world contains. And second, it seems that some among the world’s items are more basic than others, and that what would be really interesting would be to find out which types of thing – if any – are the most basic. Aristotle uses the term substance for the most basic type of item. A good place to gain entry to Aristotle’s account of substance is his short work Categories. The main point to take from the Categories is that the basic things – the substances – are individual living things. The fact that individual living things are subject to existential change – as well as non-existential change – requires us to think of an individual living thing itself as a form– matter complex.
