Aristotle's Ontology of Artefacts. By Marilù Papandreou.

The article "Aristotle's Ontology of Artefacts" by Marilù Papandreou discusses Aristotle's perspective on artefacts and their ontological status. Papandreou argues that artefacts are not accidental beings or reducible to mere matter, but rather they undergo unqualified coming-to-be and can be considered substances in the Categories. However, in the Metaphysics, artefacts are not considered substances because they fail to meet the unity criterion. Papandreou's book aims to provide a guide for contemporary metaphysicians and historians of philosophy, offering a coherent account of artefacts and proposing a novel solution to why they are ontologically inferior to living beings. The article also raises two issues challenging Papandreou's main thesis, concerning the distinction between diachronic matter in artefacts and natural substances, and the relationships between matter and form in artefacts and living beings. Counterexamples are presented to dispute Papandreou's analysis. The text also explores the relationship between form and matter in both natural substances and artifacts, and different interpretations of this relationship in artifacts. The author critiques one interpretation for not providing a clear criterion for determining the identity of parts, and suggests that the distinction between artifacts and living beings needs further development. [Extracted from the article]