Similia Vol 35 No 1 – June 2022

Author: Peter Morrell

Abstract

‘The stars are living beings of keen intelligence and extremely rapid motion.’ (Aristotle)

‘It will be a property of a living creature to be compounded of soul and body.’ (Aristotle)

‘The substance of a thing is its essence.’ (Aristotle)

The basis for this article lies partly in my previous articles about philosophical connections to Hahnemann in German Idealism, most notably Kant and  Schelling. After completing those articles, it became clear that there are several aspects about homeopathy that go further back in the history of  philosophy that might be profitably explored. These include potency energy and the vital force. These two concepts, which are central to the theory of  homeopathy, resonate with ancient notions concerning the nature of substance and with the idea of the soul. Although many philosophers have  written on these topics, they can both ultimately be traced back to the ancient Greeks, and especially to Plato and Aristotle. On delving into this matter
more deeply it seemed to me that Aristotle had many important things to say about these topics and so the focus of this article mainly falls on his  ideas.

Keywords: Essence, Aristotle, soul, substance, nature, holism, totality, vital force, similars, resonance, reductionism, materialism, mechanism,  Hahnemann.