Reddit mentions of Aristotle’s Revenge: The Metaphysical Foundations of Physical and Biological Science

I had a comment in here giving a reason for he post, though that's not an explanation.

> Note: may not be the best place to post, but I needed to post somewhere in order to link it in Dr. Feser's open thread today, which he only does a couple of times each year. I've been working through his books since early this year, and developing this concept map as I progress.

By way of explanation, this is a work in progress to visualize the relationships between the concepts brought to bear in the philosophical advances of Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas. Beginning for the fundamental argument for the necessary reality of the distinction between actuality and potentiality, the concept map walks through the conceptual divisions of act and potency. Notably, the divisions of act arrive at a core conception of God as Pure Actuality, Being Itself, utterly devoid of any potentiality or passivity. This is not a proof of God, but rather simply serves to define God's role as the First and Unmoved Mover and Sustainer of all things.

The divisions of act and potency expand to the right of the map, where you see how actuality and potentiality come together as Form and Matter to produce concrete, material things.

Branching off of from the soul (here defined as the substantial form of a living substance), there is a section which details the powers or capacities of the different levels of living substances, which are hierarchically related, with respect to the corporeal order.

For now, the section on the Four Causes is placed on its own, as I still haven't decided where best to tie it in, since many topics make use of this principle. Particularly, Final Causation (defined as the end, goal, purpose, directedness or teleology of a thing) is essential to understanding the concept of objective goodness, which carries into the section on ethics (which, in this view, amounts to an understanding of the directedness of the will).

Also included, but not yet connected as well as it could be, is a section on the divine attributes, along with a brief explanation of how we can know them.

There is much more that can be included. As mentioned elsewhere, this was posted here so that I could link to the WIP. I had hoped that I could catch Edward Feser's attention in the comments of his open thread, which he posted on his blog site yesterday, and which he does only a couple times per year. This concept map is the result of my learning from his books:

• Aristotle’s Revenge: The Metaphysical Foundations of Physical and Biological Science
  
  
• Aquinas (A Beginner's Guide)
  
  
• Philosophy of Mind (A Beginner's Guide)
  
  
• Scholastic Metaphysics: A Contemporary Introduction (Scholastic Editions – Editiones Scholasticae)
  
  I am still working my way through this last one, and when done I intend also to read:
  
  
• Five Proofs of the Existence of God

You are rather confused about essential forms, final causes, and actualization, none of which are related to matter/energy conversion, except inasmuch as matter has the potential to be energy and energy has the potency to be matter.

Actualization is not directly related to metaphysical perfection, since purely accidental changes such as changes in position or color or simply moving through time are all actualization of potential without impacting the essence of a substantial form or its telos.

If you would like, I can point you to an introduction to Hylomorphism https://www.amazon.com/Aristotles-Revenge-Metaphysical-Foundations-Biological/dp/3868382003

But even if you would like to reject Hylomorphism, that's a philosophical debate, not something physics can comment on.

I bought this book but haven't started it. I fist saw Rabbi Shimon Dovid Cowen on YouTube. His book looked great. Rabbi Moshe Weiner gave it an enthusiastic endorsement. Perusing it I read about the Abraham-Brahman connection, which is fascinating.

My summer reading has been Job-like. I put Feser's latest opus on the trunk of my car before taking the garbage to the curb. Drove to work. "Where's my Feser?!" Derp. This happened once before with Schopenhauer, as if to vindicate him.

RADICAL summer reading about Maimonides fighting Kabbalah before there was a Kabbalah to fight.

Absolutely. I found mastering Edward Feser's book, which establishes God from reason alone, incredibly convincing.

See here:
https://www.amazon.com/Five-Proofs-Existence-Edward-Feser/dp/1621641333/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=Edward+Feser+five+proofs&qid=1554230492&s=gateway&sr=8-1
(By the way, as I read this book I challenged it constantly. In the end, the book won. Please give it a read.)

Also, noted Atheists do attack this book. It is rather comical to read their responses, followed by Feser, who always responds to their commentary. They truly have nothing, but I love the debate.

The most important thing here is to know that the only way to refute Feser's arguments is to attack the metaphysical underpinnings of his arguments. These are defended here:
https://www.amazon.com/Aristotles-Revenge-Metaphysical-Foundations-Biological/dp/3868382003/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?keywords=Edward+Feser+five+proofs&qid=1554230725&s=gateway&sr=8-2

This is powerful work. The same metaphysical underpinnings for science are the same used here in these arguments! If we were to throw out these assumptions, we should do exactly the same with all of science.

I find it irrefutable. But, if you do read these books, and want to debate the ideas I would be happy to engage! Again, I love the truth.

Let me know how it goes!

To those curious, Feser has written on the metaphysics of science:

• https://www.amazon.com/Aristotles-Revenge-Metaphysical-Foundations-Biological/dp/3868382003
  
• https://www.editiones-scholasticae.de/index.php?page=shop.product_details&category_id=31&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=444&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=19