This book investigates what change is, according to Aristotle, and how it affects his conception of being. Mark Sentesy argues that the analysis of change leads Aristotle to develop first-order metaphysical concepts such as matter, potency, actuality, sources of being, epigenesis, and teleology. He shows that Aristotle’s distinctive ontological claim—that being is inescapably diverse in kind—is anchored in his argument for the existence of change.
 
Aristotle may be the only thinker to propose a noncircular definition of change. With his landmark argument that change did, in fact, exist, Aristotle challenged established assumptions about what it is and developed a set of conceptual frameworks that continue to provide insight into the nature of reality. This groundbreaking work on change, however, has long been interpreted through a Platonist view of change as unreal. By offering a comprehensive reexamination of Aristotle’s pivotal arguments, and establishing his positive ontological conception of change, Sentesy makes a significant contribution to scholarship on Aristotle, ancient philosophy, the history and philosophy of science, and metaphysics.
 

“Mark Sentesy's book presents an original and comprehensive reexamination of Aristotle's concept of change and of the relation of change to being. Sentesy demonstrates that Aristotle's concept of change is instrumental in leading to his analyses of such metaphysical concepts as matter, potency, actuality, and teleology. Sentesy's work is groundbreaking and opens a new horizon within which Aristotle's thought can be reanimated in a way that is both rigorous and comprehensive.” —John Sallis, author of Being and Logos: Reading the Platonic Dialogues— -

“Change is at the core of Aristotle’s ontology. Originally the idea goes back to Plotinus, and in modern times it provides a basic assumption for phenomenologically inspired interpreters like Eugen Fink, Walter Bröker, Pierre Aubenque, and Wolfgang Wieland. Mark Sentesy joins this interpretative tradition, but he does it in an original and creative way. He offers a very compelling reconstruction of all the main aspects in Aristotle’s view of the connection between change and being.” —Alejandro G. Vigo
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"Intended for those specializing in ancient Greek philosophy, particularly those studying Aristotle, this book is thorough, well researched, and clearly written. It makes a persuasive case for the centrality of change in Aristotle’s ontology." —F. A. Grabowski, Rogers State University, CHOICE

"Sentesy’s argument is . . . a species of ‘intellectual judo’, flipping the recognized bias against change in the received Greek tradition, valorizing change as our unique and at the same time adequate access to the multiple types of Being and the ways they may be internally related one to another, as these are left behind as traces in both the processes and products of change that surround us, and may be traced back, in evolution, to allow a glimpse of the ultimate sources in unchanging Being from which our world has resulted." —Patrick Madigan, The Heythrop Journal 

"The book’s rigor does not detract from its accessibility . . . At times, the author’s interpretation seems so familiar that it reads as an introduction to Aristotelian thought. I recommend it both to active scholars and to new scholars seeking such an introduction." —Charlene Elsby, Journal of the History of Philosophy— -