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The podcast episode is about explaining the philosophical concept of hylomorphism to someone unfamiliar with it, using Aristotle's ideas. Hylomorphism states that everything is a combination of matter and form, with the mind being the form of a living being. It differs from dualism and physicalism by asserting that the mind and body are unified, not separate or solely brain-based. The strengths include connecting the mind to the body, while weaknesses involve defining form scientifically and fitting with neuroscience. Hello, and welcome back to the podcast. Today's episode is a little bit different, because I'll be explaining a philosophical idea, hylomorphism, to someone who has never heard it before. My goal is to break it down in simple terms and see if it makes sense to them, with no background in philosophy of mine. I remember when I first heard the word, I had no clue what I meant, so I want to recreate that experience in real time. Hi, I'm Priscilla, and yeah, I've literally never heard that word in my life, so this should be interesting. Perfect, that's exactly why you're here. Alright, before I explain anything, what do you think hylomorphism is, means? I mean, it sounds like something scientific, like a shape-changing organism or something. Honestly, that's not that bad of a guess. Most people think the same thing, but no, it's actually a theory about what things are made of, especially living beings. Alright, so here's the simple version. Hylomorphism comes from Aristotle. You know who Aristotle is? I do not. Actually? I don't know. Really? Yes. Okay, first, let me tell you who Aristotle is. So, okay, so Aristotle was one of the most important and influential philosophers in history. In simpler terms, he's like basically a celebrity for philosophers. Why is he important? Okay, sorry. So, he's important because his ideas shaped how people thought and think now, and his works were so influential in the medieval scholars like Aquinas and called him simply the philosopher. Why was his work important? Okay, mess it up. Shut the fuck up, bro. Okay, also- Wait, I want you to shut the fuck up. I know. Aristotle also made what is hylomorphism, which is, you know- The word we're learning about today? Yes, exactly. You're learning. You're catching on fast. Some facts about him is that he founded his own school called Lycium, where students walked around while learning. Isn't that a little bit weird, guys? I know, right? But also, he wrote over 200 works, but only 30 survived, and those are the only ones we know of today. Okay. Aristotle was a- Should we respond? No, we can keep going. Okay. Aristotle was a- Oh, my God. Okay. Aristotle was a really smart ancient Greek thinker who lived a long time ago, over 2,000 years ago. Older than your grandma. I'm gonna get a good joke, but it was so, like, dark humorous. Whoa. Like, I was- Okay. So is Aristotle. Aristotle, so. They're probably together in hell. Maybe. Whoa, hell. Hey. So, okay. He studied almost everything. People, animals, nature, the mind, the logic, and how to live a good life. He was a student of Plato. You know who Plato is, right? No. Jesus Christ, dude. You don't know who anyone is. No, I don't. I don't know Plato. Oh, my God. Dude, goodbye. So he was a student of Plato and a teacher of Alexander the Great, and one of the most important philosophers ever. So basically, yeah. Why does he matter now? Because his ideas shaped how people think even today, especially in science, ethics, and philosophy. Okay. So basically, that's a summary on who Aristotle is. Actually, when I first, what's it called? When I first learned about him. What's it called? When I first learned about him. I learned about him through a Taylor Swift song. Through a Taylor Swift song? Yeah. Because it was like, choose, dare, something, something. No, you know, you know Ball, I know Aristotle. I was like, ooh, catchy. I didn't even know who Aristotle was. And you were just relating to him? Yep. Until I took philosophy. Okay. So I was saying, so hylomorphism comes from Aristotle. The word comes from two Greek words, hyl, which means matter, and morph, which means form. Aristotle's idea that everything in the world, every physical object and every living thing is a combination of matter and form. Like body and soul? Kind of, but not exactly. How we usually think of the soul. Here's an easy example. A knife. The matter is the metal. The form is the shape and the functioning. What makes it a knife? If you melted the metal, you still have the matter, but no knife. If you imagine the shape of a knife with no material, you have a form, but nothing physical. Okay, that actually makes sense. Does it? Okay, so let me give you something else. I feel like I understand it. Like when you're thinking of a knife, you're thinking of something sharp, metal. You can melt it down. Okay, so you're getting it. Okay. Now, here's where philosophy of mind comes in. Aristotle and later Aquinas. I'm not sure how you say this. I'm sorry. Aquinas? Aquini? Aquinas? I'm not sure. He said that the mind is the form of a living human being. Not something flirting around separately. And not something that's just chemicals. The body is the matter. The mind is the form. And together, they make one unified being. So it's not like the mind, it's its own thing? Exactly. It's not separated like in dualism. Do you know what dualism is? No, I do not. That's complicated. Okay, so basically, dualism says that the mind and the body are two separate subsystems. While holomorphism says that both are together. Okay. It's also not reduced to the brain like physicalism. Do you know what that is? No. Okay, I'll explain it later on. See, I kind of knew if you don't know what holomorphism is, you wouldn't know what dualism or physicalism is. But as I was saying, it is something like your mind is what your body does when it's alive and organized in the right way. That's complicated, but I think I kind of get it. So let me compare it with two main opposing theories, as I said before. Okay, so first, dualism. There's a correct thought that the mind and the body are two separate subsystems. That's what his thought is on dualism, that the mind and the body are two separate subsystems. The mind is a non-physical, while the body is physical. They interact, but they're different things. Like a ghost in a machine? Exactly. A lot of people naturally think it's this way. Now on to the next question. Now on to the next one. Physicalism. So for this, everything about the mind can be explained by the brain. Thoughts, memories, emotions, they're all just brain activity. So basically, physicalism is all brain activity. That sounds scientific. Yes. It is the main position today in science. Holomorphism is the middle mind and body and are not separate. But the mind is not just the brain either. It's the organization principles of the whole living person. Okay, so here's my question. If the mind isn't separate, how can we think about things that aren't physical, like ideas or imagination? Great question. For Aristotle, the mind uses the body. We need senses, memory, imagination, but thinking also involves form. So our thoughts aren't floating ghosts, but they aren't just electrical signals. But then how do you explain brain damage? If the form is the real source of the mind, why does damaging matter change how people think? Another good question. Wow, you really are learning. Holomorphism says that the form and matter depend on each other. If the matter is damaged, then the form can't operate the same way. Think back to the knife example. If you bend the blade, the knife is still a knife. But if it doesn't perform, its function will. That makes sense. So the mind isn't separate from the body, but the body matters from how the mind works. Exactly. There are some strengths that people like about holomorphism. For example, it avoids the idea of the mind floating separately. But it also avoids the idea that we're just brains. Because honestly, when I think about it, why would I want to be just a brain? What about you? I wouldn't want to be just a brain, right? It explains why the mind feels connected to the whole body, not just the brain. And it accounts for why mental activities depend on the body, but aren't identical to the body parts. You know, when you're crying, it's mental or whatever. Yeah. But it's your body that's reacting to that. You crying, you know what I mean? Physical reaction? Yeah. Yeah, I see why it makes sense. Okay. But there are some weaknesses about holomorphism. It's hard to define form in a scientific way. Physicalists argue that it doesn't fit well with neuroscience. Do you know what neuroscience is? I've heard of it, but I don't remember it. What do you think it is? Um, I couldn't give you an exact definition. Okay, well, I haven't been to school enough. I lost my speech. No, I lost my paper. I don't know where it's at. I lost my paper. Not a very good teacher. Okay, sorry. And then, also, dualists say that it doesn't fully explain consciousness. You know what consciousness is? Okay, good. It feels abstract compared to most of the modern explanations. Yeah, forms. Still feels kind of a mystery to me.