Hylomorphism and the Incarnation

Abstract

This chapter offers a metaphysical account of the incarnation that starts from substantive assumptions about the nature of natures and about the metaphysics of the Trinity and develops in light of these a story about the relations among the elements involved in the incarnation. Central to the view described are two features of Aristotle’s metaphysics: (i) a hylomorphic understanding of material objects, (ii) a doctrine of numerical sameness without identity, and (iii) the view that the nature of a thing can appropriately be identified with its form. These ideas, along with other important aspects of the metaphysical framework which are discussed, form the bulk of the chapter. They are followed by a brief sketch of the account of the Trinity that the author and Jeffrey Brower have presented in detail elsewhere. In the final section, the author’s account of the incarnation is presented.