The Concept of First Philosophy and the Unity of the Metaphysics of Aristotle

Reale's monumental work establishes the exact dimensions of Aristotle's concept of first philosophy and proves the profound unity of concept that exists in Aristotle's Metaphysics. Reale's opposition to the genetic interpretation of the Metaphysics is an updated return to a more traditional view of Aristotle's work, one which runs counter to nearly all contemporary scholarship. Reale argues that Aristotle's first philosophy includes a study of being, a study of substance, a study of divine substance, and a study of principles and causes, all of which are integrated and dialectically reconciled.

Table of Contents:
Foreword Preface to the First Edition (1961) Preface to the Second Edition (1965) Preface to the Third Edition (1967) Translator's Preface Introduction The Aim and Method of the Present Study I. The Concept of First Philosophy II. The "Platonic" and "Naturalistic" Requirements in the Metaphysics of Aristotle III. The Literary Unity, the Philosophical Unity, and the Historical Origin of the Metaphysics IV. The Limits of the Present Work 1. The Concept of — or "First Philosophy" and the Inquiry into the Primary Causes in Books A and — First Section I. — as the Knowledge of the Primary Causes and Principles II. Wisdom as the "Science of Divine Things" or Theology III. The Four Causes and the Supremacy of the Formal Cause IV. The Confirmation of the Doctrine of the Four Causes through the Examination of the Doctrine of Preceding Philosophers V. The Reconfirmation of the Theological Component in the Critique of the Pre-Socratics VI. —, Ontology, and Ousiology Second Section The Meaning, Nature, and Origin of the Theory of the Four Causes I. "Cause" as a Condition, Foundation, or Reason of Reality II. The "Ionic" and "Platonic" Components in the Aristotelian Doctrine of the Four Causes III. Conclusions Third Section. Book — as an Appendix of Book A I. The Content of Book -. Philosophy as the Science of Truth II. The Question of the Authenticity of Books 2. Book B and the Aporias of the Metaphysics First Section. The Reading and Interpretation of the Aporias I. The Concept and Goal of the Aporias II. The Number and Listing of the Aporias III. The Expositions of the Aporias Second Section. The Specification of the Concept of First Philosophy through the Aporias I. The Aetiological or Theory of Principles Component II. The Ousiological Componenet III. The Ontological Component IV. The Theological Component and the Problems of Transcendence Third Section. The Structure and Meaning of the Aporias and the Contemporary Genetic Interpretations I. The Origin and Nature of the Aporias II. The Plane of the Solution of the Aporias and Aristotelian Realism. The Inaccuracy of the Genetic Interpretations of Book B. 3. First Philosophy and the Science of Being qua Being in Book - I. The Analysis of -.1. The Convergence of Ontology and Aetiolgy II. The Exposition of -.2 III. Being and Substance: Ontology and Ousiology IV. "First Philosophy" as Theology in -.2-3 V. The Significance of the Theological Component in Book - Second Section. The Solution of the First Four Aporias in Book - I. The Solution of the First Aporia II. The Solution of the Second Aporia III. The Solution of the Third Aporia IV. The Solution of the Fourth Aporia Third Section. The Theory of —- and the Presumed Evolutionary Trajectory of the Metaphysical Thought of Aristotle I. The Meaning of —- II. Empiricism, Platonism, and the Theory of —- 4. Metaphysics and Theology in Book E First Section. The Analysis of E. I. The Repetition of the Aetiological and Ousiological Components II. The Three Theoretical Sciences: Physics, Mathematics, and First Philosophy or Theology III. The Reconciliation between Ontology and Theology in E.1 Second Section. The Meaning of Being and the Irrelevancy of Some of Them for the Metaphysical Inquiry I. The Four Meanings of Being II. Being as Accident and the Reasons for Its Exclusion from the Metaphyscial Inquiry III. Being as Truth and the Reason for Its Exclusion from the Metaphysical Inquiry IV. The Conclusions of E.4 The — Excludes of Itself the —- and the —- Third Section. The Genetic Interpretations of Book E and the Theological Component 5. The Concept of First Philosophy in Books Z, H, O and I First Section. The Significance of Books, Z, H, O, and I in the Scope of the Metaphysics According to Contemporary Scholarship Second Section. Book Z I. The Ontological and Ousiological Component. The Reduction of the Problem of Being to the Problem of —- in Z.1 II. The Theological Component in Book Z. General Ousiology and Theology III. The Aetiological Component in Book Z Third Section. Book H. I. Ontology and Ousiology in Book H. II. The Aetiological Component in Book H III. The Theological Component in Book H Fourth Section. Book O I. The Doctrine of Act and Potency and the Ontological, Ousiological, and Aetiological Components II. TheDoctrine of Act and Potency and the Theological Component Fifth Section. Book I and the Object of First Philosophy 6. Book K and the Recapitulation of Books A, B, T, and E. First Section. The Comparison between K.1-2 and Books A and B I. A Brief Hint of A Summarized in K.1 II. A Comparison between the Aporias of K.1-2 and Those of Book B. III. Conclusions Concerning K.1-2 Second Section. The Comparison between K.3-6 and Book T. I. The Content of K.3-6 II. The Identity of Conception between K.3-6 and Book T. Third Section. The Comparison between K.7-8 and Book E I. The Content of K.7-8 II. The Comparison between K.7-8 and Book E Fourth Section. The "excerpts" of the Physics, Books T and E, in K.9-12 and the Meaning of Book K I. K.9-12 and the Physics II. The Meaning of Book K in the Scope of the Metaphysics and the Meaning of K.9-12 Fifth Section. The Four Determinations of the Concept of First Philosophy in Book K 7. Books A, M, and N, concerning Transcendent Substance and the Fourfold Dimension of the Metaphysical Inquiry First Section. The Four Componenets of Aristotle's Metaphysics in Books M and N. I. Metaphysics as Theology II. The Ousiological Component III. The Aetiological or Science of Principles Component and its Relationship with Ousiology and Theology in Book A IV. The Presence in Book A of the Ontological Component and its Relationship to the Other Components Second Section. The Four Components of Aristotle's Metaphysics in Books M and N I. The Theological Component II. The Aetiological or Science of Principles Component III. The Ousiological Component IV. The Ontological Component Third Section. The Genetic Interpretations of A, M, and N I. Book A II. Books M and N 8. Observations on Book Delta I. The Character of Book Delta II. The Position of Book Delta with Respect to the Other Books III. Book Delta and the Genetic Interpretations Conclusions. The Horizons of the Aristotelian Metaphsyics I. The "Constants" of the Aristotelian Metaphysics II. The Dialectical Unity of the Constants III. The Synthesis of the Naturalistic and Platonic Requirements in the First Philosophy of Aristotle IV. The Unitary Design of the Metaphysics Appendixes A. The Historical Importance of the Metaphysics of Theophrastus in comparison with the Metaphysics of Aristotle B. The Metaphysics of Theophrastus with commentary C. A Selected Annotated Bibliography (after 1932) Concerning the Object of Study of the Present Volume D. Other works (prior to 1923) Expressly Cited in the Course of the Present Volume Indexes I. An Analytic Index of Names II. An Index of Greek Terms III. An Index of Aristotelian Texts Cited