This book investigates Aristotle's views on abstraction and explores how he uses it. In this
work the author follows Aristotle in focusing on the scientific detail first and then
approaches the metaphysical claims and so creates a reconstructed theory that explains many
puzzles of Aristotle's thought. Understanding the details of his theory of relations and
abstraction further illuminates his theory of universals. Some of the features of Aristotle's
theory of abstraction developed in this book include: abstraction is a relation perception and
knowledge are types of abstraction the objects generated by abstractions are relata which can
serve as subjects in their own right whereupon they can appear as items in other categories.
The author goes on to look at how Aristotle distinguishes the concrete from the abstract
paronym how induction is a type of abstraction which typically moves from the perceived
individuals to universals and how Aristotle's metaphysical vocabulary is relational.' Beyond
those features this work also looks at how of universals accidents forms causes and
potentialities have being only as abstract aspects of individual substances. An individual
substance is identical to its essence the essence has universal features but is the
singularity making the individual substance what it is. These theories are expounded within
this book. One main attraction in working out the details of Aristotle's views on abstraction
lies in understanding his metaphysics of universals as abstract objects. This work reclaims
past ground as the main philosophical tradition of abstraction has been ignored in recent
times. It gives a modern version of the medieval doctrine of the threefold distinction of
essence made famous by the Islamic philosopher Avicenna.
