Hypokeimenon
Encyclopedia
Hypokeimenon later often material substratum, is a term in metaphysics
which literally means the "underlying thing" (Latin subiectum).
To search for the hypokeimenon is to search for that substance
which persists in a thing going through change— its essential
being
.
According to Aristotle
's definition (in Categories
), hypokeimenon is something which can be predicated by other things, but cannot be a predicate of others.
The existence of a material substratum was posited by John Locke
, with conceptual similarities to Baruch Spinoza
's substance and Immanuel Kant
's concept of the noumenon
(in The Critique of Pure Reason).
Locke theorised that when all sensible properties were abstracted away from an object, such as its colour, weight, density or taste, there would still be something left to which the properties had adhered— something which allowed the object to exist independently of the sensible properties that it manifested in the beholder. Locke saw this ontological
ingredient as necessary if we are to be able to consider objects as existing independently of our own minds. The material substratum proved a difficult idea for Locke as by its very nature its existence could not be directly proved in the manner endorsed by empiricists (i.e., proof by exhibition in experience). Nevertheless, he believed that the philosophical reasons for it were strong enough for its existence to be considered proved.
The existence of the substratum was denied by Berkeley
. In his Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous
, Berkeley maintained that an object consists of nothing more than those sensible properties (or possible sensible properties) that the object manifests, and that those sensible properties only exist so long as the act of perceiving them does.
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
which literally means the "underlying thing" (Latin subiectum).
To search for the hypokeimenon is to search for that substance
Substance theory
Substance theory, or substance attribute theory, is an ontological theory about objecthood, positing that a substance is distinct from its properties. A thing-in-itself is a property-bearer that must be distinguished from the properties it bears....
which persists in a thing going through change— its essential
Essence
In philosophy, essence is the attribute or set of attributes that make an object or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it loses its identity. Essence is contrasted with accident: a property that the object or substance has contingently, without...
being
Being
Being , is an English word used for conceptualizing subjective and objective aspects of reality, including those fundamental to the self —related to and somewhat interchangeable with terms like "existence" and "living".In its objective usage —as in "a being," or "[a] human being" —it...
.
According to Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
's definition (in Categories
Categories (Aristotle)
The Categories is a text from Aristotle's Organon that enumerates all the possible kinds of thing that can be the subject or the predicate of a proposition...
), hypokeimenon is something which can be predicated by other things, but cannot be a predicate of others.
The existence of a material substratum was posited by John Locke
John Locke
John Locke FRS , widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social...
, with conceptual similarities to Baruch Spinoza
Baruch Spinoza
Baruch de Spinoza and later Benedict de Spinoza was a Dutch Jewish philosopher. Revealing considerable scientific aptitude, the breadth and importance of Spinoza's work was not fully realized until years after his death...
's substance and Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....
's concept of the noumenon
Noumenon
The noumenon is a posited object or event that is known without the use of the senses.The term is generally used in contrast with, or in relation to "phenomenon", which refers to anything that appears to, or is an object of, the senses...
(in The Critique of Pure Reason).
Locke theorised that when all sensible properties were abstracted away from an object, such as its colour, weight, density or taste, there would still be something left to which the properties had adhered— something which allowed the object to exist independently of the sensible properties that it manifested in the beholder. Locke saw this ontological
Ontology
Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, existence or reality as such, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations...
ingredient as necessary if we are to be able to consider objects as existing independently of our own minds. The material substratum proved a difficult idea for Locke as by its very nature its existence could not be directly proved in the manner endorsed by empiricists (i.e., proof by exhibition in experience). Nevertheless, he believed that the philosophical reasons for it were strong enough for its existence to be considered proved.
The existence of the substratum was denied by Berkeley
George Berkeley
George Berkeley , also known as Bishop Berkeley , was an Irish philosopher whose primary achievement was the advancement of a theory he called "immaterialism"...
. In his Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous
Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous
Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous is a book written by George Berkeley in 1713.Three important concepts discussed in the Three Dialogues are perceptual relativity, the conceivability/master argument , and Berkeley's phenomenalism.Perceptual relativity argues that the same object can...
, Berkeley maintained that an object consists of nothing more than those sensible properties (or possible sensible properties) that the object manifests, and that those sensible properties only exist so long as the act of perceiving them does.