Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Matter and Form

Physicists are attempting to find a theory of everything (TOE).

It is said that that will be successful when the ultimate particle is found and the four forces of nature are unified - and when one theory covers relativity and quantum mechanics.

However, material being is more than the particles that matter, energy, and the forces of nature are made of.

In addition to matter, there is *form.*

Form is the overall distribution, arrangement, and inter-connectivity of matter in three dimensional space. It is an objective constituent of being, so that a physical thing is more than the components it is made of.

For example, a car is not merely its parts. A heap of car parts with all of them present is not a car. They must be assembled in the right way - that is, form must be added - to constitute a car.

The principle of form is metaphysical. It does not come under the preview of physics, for physics only investigates matter, or what things are made of and the interaction of individual component parts.

The principle of form is *the* cornerstone metaphysical principle. For it is "one up" from physics, and is the gateway to understanding higher metaphysical principles such as essence, substance, being, and spirit.


Jim J. McCrea