Matter

Across various philosophical traditions, different terms are used to denote the concept of matter, often with nuances specific to each philosophical framework:

Western Philosophical Traditions

Term	Language/Origin	Tradition/Context	Meaning and Usage
Hyle (ὕλη)	Ancient Greek	Aristotelian, Hylomorphism	Literally meaning “wood” or “timber,” it was used by Aristotle to refer to the material principle of a physical entity, the pure potentiality that receives form to become a complete substance.
Prote Hyle (πρώτη ὕλη)	Ancient Greek	Aristotelian	”Prime matter”; a fundamental, undifferentiated substratum that lacks all form and is pure potentiality.
Ousia (οὐσία)	Ancient Greek	Aristotelian, General Greek Philosophy	Often translated as “substance” or “being,” rather than just “matter.” It refers to the fundamental reality of a thing, its essence or “beingness,” which can be a compound of matter and form.
Atomos (ἄτομος)	Ancient Greek	Atomist (Leucippus, Democritus, Epicurus)	Meaning “indivisible,” this term refers to the small, finite, indivisible particles that make up all matter in the materialist view, contrasting with Aristotle’s continuous matter.
Materia	Latin	Medieval Philosophy, Roman Philosophy	A direct translation and calque of the Greek hyle, commonly used in medieval Latin philosophy and later Western thought to refer to physical material or “stuff”.
Substantia	Latin	Stoicism, Medieval Philosophy, Modern Philosophy	A translation of ousia, it refers to the underlying stuff or fundamental reality of something. Its meaning has evolved across thinkers like Seneca, Aquinas, and Spinoza.
Materie	German	Goethean and other German Philosophy	Used similarly to the Latin materia, often explicitly contrasted with Geist (spirit) or Form.

Eastern Philosophical Traditions

Ajīva (अजीव) | Sanskrit | Jainism | Literally “not soul,” this term represents matter, time, space, and motion/non-motion, which is distinct from the eternal jīva (soul). Matter is viewed as a single “stuff” with various forms.
Maya (माया) | Sanskrit | various Indian philosophies (e.g., Vedanta) | Often translated as “illusion” or “appearance,” this term relates to the material world as a transient, often deceptive, manifestation of a higher reality (Brahman). It does not equate directly to the Western concept of fundamental, inert matter but rather points to the phenomenal world’s nature.
Prakriti (प्रकृति) | Sanskrit | Samkhya, Yoga, Ayurveda | The fundamental material nature or primordial substance of the universe, composed of the three gunas (strands or qualities), which evolves into the physical and mental aspects of reality in contrast to the conscious purusha (self or spirit).

AI responses may include mistakes.

[1] https://philosophy.stackexchange.com/questions/88862/what-is-matter

[2] wikipedia/en/Philosophy_of_matter

[3] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hyle

[4] https://georgiasouthern.libguides.com/c.php?g=943952&p=6804469

[5] https://goethe-lexicon.pitt.edu/GL/article/view/60

[6] https://inters.org/matter

[7] https://www.academia.edu/3051150/Matter_in_Hellenistic_philosophy

[8] https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/15871/substance-in-philosophical-discourse

[9] wikipedia/en/Soul

[10] https://isidore.co/aquinas/english/Metaphysics5.htm

[11] https://www.jimpryor.net/teaching/courses/mind/notes/substance.html

[12] https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/ousia

[13] https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/31620

Materia prima is a philosophical concept for the original, formless, primordial matter from which all things are created, while materia secunda is a later alchemical or philosophical concept representing a secondary form of matter that is still raw but is beginning to take on some form or is united with its “form”. Materia prima is the chaotic potential, whereas materia secunda is the raw material that is being acted upon and shaped. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Materia prima

Philosophical and alchemical: The concept of a primitive, formless base from which all matter originates.
Underlying substance: It represents a substratum that underlies all material substances, even though it doesn’t exist in a pure, formless state in reality.
Psychological and artistic: In Jungian psychology, it can symbolize the undifferentiated, chaotic potential of the unconscious. It is also a theme in art and design, representing the raw, foundational elements of existence. [1, 2, 5, 6, 7]

Materia secunda

Secondary matter: It is a step beyond materia prima, where matter begins to take on a specific form or is united with its form.
Earthly material: In a more poetic sense, materia secunda can refer to the earthly materials that are shaped by humans, like the materials of language in typography and art.
A process of transformation: It represents the raw materials of language that are enacted and shaped into meaning, becoming an “event” or “constellation” rather than a transparent container for meaning. [3, 4, 8, 9]

AI responses may include mistakes.

[1] https://thealdrich.org/exhibitions/prima-materia

[2] https://ccel.org/ccel/aquinas/gentiles/gentiles.v.xiv.html

[3] https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10053b.htm

[4] https://www.academia.edu/67422053/Materia_Secunda_text_as_image

[5] https://thisjungianlife.com/jungian-alchemy-the-secret-of-inner-transformation/

[6] https://uusi.us/products/materia-prima-an-expression-of-matter

[7] https://uusi.us/products/materia-prima-a-reflection-on-matter

[8] https://www.materiasecunda.com/

[9] https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/btwo.1.2.139_1

Matter

Across various philosophical traditions, different terms are used to denote the concept of matter, often with nuances specific to each philosophical framework:

Western Philosophical Traditions

Term	Language/Origin	Tradition/Context	Meaning and Usage
Hyle (ὕλη)	Ancient Greek	Aristotelian, Hylomorphism	Literally meaning “wood” or “timber,” it was used by Aristotle to refer to the material principle of a physical entity, the pure potentiality that receives form to become a complete substance.
Prote Hyle (πρώτη ὕλη)	Ancient Greek	Aristotelian	”Prime matter”; a fundamental, undifferentiated substratum that lacks all form and is pure potentiality.
Ousia (οὐσία)	Ancient Greek	Aristotelian, General Greek Philosophy	Often translated as “substance” or “being,” rather than just “matter.” It refers to the fundamental reality of a thing, its essence or “beingness,” which can be a compound of matter and form.
Atomos (ἄτομος)	Ancient Greek	Atomist (Leucippus, Democritus, Epicurus)	Meaning “indivisible,” this term refers to the small, finite, indivisible particles that make up all matter in the materialist view, contrasting with Aristotle’s continuous matter.
Materia	Latin	Medieval Philosophy, Roman Philosophy	A direct translation and calque of the Greek hyle, commonly used in medieval Latin philosophy and later Western thought to refer to physical material or “stuff”.
Substantia	Latin	Stoicism, Medieval Philosophy, Modern Philosophy	A translation of ousia, it refers to the underlying stuff or fundamental reality of something. Its meaning has evolved across thinkers like Seneca, Aquinas, and Spinoza.
Materie	German	Goethean and other German Philosophy	Used similarly to the Latin materia, often explicitly contrasted with Geist (spirit) or Form.

Eastern Philosophical Traditions

Ajīva (अजीव) | Sanskrit | Jainism | Literally “not soul,” this term represents matter, time, space, and motion/non-motion, which is distinct from the eternal jīva (soul). Matter is viewed as a single “stuff” with various forms.
Maya (माया) | Sanskrit | various Indian philosophies (e.g., Vedanta) | Often translated as “illusion” or “appearance,” this term relates to the material world as a transient, often deceptive, manifestation of a higher reality (Brahman). It does not equate directly to the Western concept of fundamental, inert matter but rather points to the phenomenal world’s nature.
Prakriti (प्रकृति) | Sanskrit | Samkhya, Yoga, Ayurveda | The fundamental material nature or primordial substance of the universe, composed of the three gunas (strands or qualities), which evolves into the physical and mental aspects of reality in contrast to the conscious purusha (self or spirit).

AI responses may include mistakes.

[1] https://philosophy.stackexchange.com/questions/88862/what-is-matter

[2] wikipedia/en/Philosophy_of_matter

[3] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hyle

[4] https://georgiasouthern.libguides.com/c.php?g=943952&p=6804469

[5] https://goethe-lexicon.pitt.edu/GL/article/view/60

[6] https://inters.org/matter

[7] https://www.academia.edu/3051150/Matter_in_Hellenistic_philosophy

[8] https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/15871/substance-in-philosophical-discourse

[9] wikipedia/en/Soul

[10] https://isidore.co/aquinas/english/Metaphysics5.htm

[11] https://www.jimpryor.net/teaching/courses/mind/notes/substance.html

[12] https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/ousia

[13] https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/31620

Philosophical and alchemical: The concept of a primitive, formless base from which all matter originates.
Underlying substance: It represents a substratum that underlies all material substances, even though it doesn’t exist in a pure, formless state in reality.
Psychological and artistic: In Jungian psychology, it can symbolize the undifferentiated, chaotic potential of the unconscious. It is also a theme in art and design, representing the raw, foundational elements of existence. [1, 2, 5, 6, 7]

Materia secunda

Secondary matter: It is a step beyond materia prima, where matter begins to take on a specific form or is united with its form.
Earthly material: In a more poetic sense, materia secunda can refer to the earthly materials that are shaped by humans, like the materials of language in typography and art.
A process of transformation: It represents the raw materials of language that are enacted and shaped into meaning, becoming an “event” or “constellation” rather than a transparent container for meaning. [3, 4, 8, 9]

AI responses may include mistakes.

[1] https://thealdrich.org/exhibitions/prima-materia

[2] https://ccel.org/ccel/aquinas/gentiles/gentiles.v.xiv.html

[3] https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10053b.htm

[4] https://www.academia.edu/67422053/Materia_Secunda_text_as_image

[5] https://thisjungianlife.com/jungian-alchemy-the-secret-of-inner-transformation/

[6] https://uusi.us/products/materia-prima-an-expression-of-matter

[7] https://uusi.us/products/materia-prima-a-reflection-on-matter

[8] https://www.materiasecunda.com/

[9] https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/btwo.1.2.139_1