The Metaphysics

About The Metaphysics

Aristotle’s probing inquiry into some of the fundamental problems of philosophy, The Metaphysics is one of the classical Greek foundation-stones of western thought

The Metaphysics presents Aristotle’s mature rejection of both the Platonic theory that what we perceive is just a pale reflection of reality and the hard-headed view that all processes are ultimately material. He argued instead that the reality or substance of things lies in their concrete forms, and in so doing he probed some of the deepest questions of philosophy: What is existence? How is change possible? And are there certain things that must exist for anything else to exist at all? The seminal notions discussed in The Metaphysics – of ‘substance’ and associated concepts of matter and form, essence and accident, potentiality and actuality – have had a profound and enduring influence, and laid the foundations for one of the central branches of Western philosophy.

In this edition Hugh Lawson-Tancred’s lucid translation is accompanied by a stimulating introduction in which he highlights the central themes of one of philosophy’s supreme masterpieces. 

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.