In physics ‘matter’ is used for an existent which possesses...

In physics ‘matter’ is used for an existent which possesses specific attributes such as mass, attraction and repulsion, friction, etc., and it is used as the opposite of ‘force’ or ‘energy.’ In philosophy, ‘matter’ is used for an existent which is the ground for the appearance of another existent, as soil is the ground for the appearance of plants and animals.

Hence, the philosophical meaning of this term comprises the meaning of relation, and it is close to the meaning of ‘ māyeh’ (stuff) in Farsi. Philosophers call the first stuff of all corporeal existents ‘the matter of matters’ or ‘ hayūlā ūlā ’ (prime matter),1 and there are differences of opinion about its reality. Aristotelians hold that prime matter has no actuality of its own, and its reality is nothing more than potentiality and capacity for corporeal actualities.

A discussion of this will come later. In conclusion, the term ‘material’ in the terminology of philosophy is used for things related to the matter of the…