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William M. R. Simpson examines the idea that living organisms are unified wholes whose nature cannot be fully understood as an arrangement of independent parts. He develops this question through hylomorphism, the Aristotelian account of matter and form, and its modern philosophical revivals.
The discussion begins with the historical fortunes of hylomorphism and then compares contemporary versions of the theory. Simpson asks how a whole can be more than the sum of its parts and what gives an organism the unity required to count as an individual. These questions lead into the relationship between biological entities and the physical entities studied by fundamental science.
Later sections consider what current physics might mean for hylomorphic theories and what those theories might contribute to biology. The book links metaphysical arguments with questions about scientific explanation, offering a compact introduction to debates about organisms, individuality, holism and the organization of the natural world.
William M. R. Simpson. Hylomorphism. Cambridge University Press, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009026475. Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0; the unchanged original edition and its required notices are retained.