Jaworski’s neo-Aristotelian hylomorphism and the mind-body problem

Ross Carter

The human being who encounters us presents as a single being in which mentality and corporeality are seamlessly united. How this unity is to explained is what is called the ‘mind-body’ problem. Historically attempts to solve the mind-body problem, in English speaking philosophy of mind and philosophy of science in the post war period have usually utilised some version of physicalism. 

In these physicalist schemes, the material reality of human beings is taken for granted, whereas the reality of mental phenomena has come to be questioned by, for example, Eliminativism. I will give a brief account of various forms of physicalism in order to set the scene for my main concern which will be to introduce a rival position, hylomorphism. Recently a number of philosophers have sought to explain the unified reality of mentality and corporeality we happen upon in people by developing modified versions of Aristotelian hylomorphism. The bulk of the paper will then discuss and evaluate William Jaworski’s recent attempt to solve the mind-body problem by the application of a neo-Aristotelian hylomorphism. 

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