Physis

For use in anatomy, seeEpiphyseal plate.

Not to be confused withPhysis(journal)orPhysics.

Physis(/ˈfaɪˈsɪs/;Ancient Greek:φύσις[pʰýsis];pl.physeis,φύσεις) is a Greekphilosophical,theological,andscientificterm, usually translated intoEnglish—according to itsLatintranslation "natura" —as "nature".The term originated in ancientGreek philosophy,and was later used inChristian theologyandWestern philosophy.Inpre-Socraticusage,physiswas contrasted withνόμος,nomos,"law, human convention".Another opposition, particularly well-known from the works ofAristotle,is that ofphysisandtechne– in this case, what is produced and what is artificial are distinguished from beings that arise spontaneously from their own essence, as do agents such as humans.Further, sinceAristotlethephysical(the subject matter ofphysics,properlyτὰ φυσικά"natural things" ) has been juxtaposed to themetaphysical.

Linguistics

TheGreekwordphysiscan be considered the equivalent of the Latinnatura.The abstract term physis is derived from the verbphyesthai/phynai,which means “to grow”, “to develop”, “to become” (Frisk 2006: 1052; Caspers 2010b: 1068). In ancient philosophy one also finds the noun "physis" referring to the growth expressed in the verbphyesthai/phynaiand to the origin of development (Plato, Menexenos 237a; Aristotle, Metaphysics 1014b16–17). In terms of linguistic history, this verb is related to forms such as the English “be”, Germanseinor Latinesse(Lohmann 1960: 174; Pfeifer 1993: 1273; Beekes 2010: 1598). In Greek itself, the aorist (a verbal aspect) of “to be” can be expressed with forms ofphynai.With regard to its kinship with “being” and the basic meaning of the verb stemphy-orbhu-( “growing” ), there has long been criticism of the conventional translation of the word "physis" with “nature”. With the Latinnatura,which for its part goes back to the verbnasci( “to be born” ), one transfers the basic word "physis" into a different sphere of association. In this way, the emerging growth (of plants, for instance) is transferred into the realm of being born.

Greek philosophy

According to Aristotle, "physis" (nature) is dependent on "techne" (art).

Main articles:Ancient Greek philosophyandNature (philosophy)

Pre-Socratic usage

The word φύσις is a verbal noun based onφύειν"to grow, to appear" (cognatewith English "to be" ).InHomeric Greekit is used quite literally, of the manner of growth of a particular species of plant.

Inpre-Socraticphilosophy, beginning withHeraclitus,physisin keeping with its etymology of "growing, becoming" is always used in the sense of the "natural"development,although the focus might lie either with the origin, or the process, or the end result of the process. There is some evidence that by the 6th century BC, beginning with theIonian School,the word could also be used in the comprehensive sense, as referring to "allthings ", as it were" Nature "in the sense of"Universe".

In theSophisttradition, the term stood in opposition tonomos(νόμος), "law"or"custom",in the debate on which parts of human existence are natural, and which are due to convention. The contrast ofphysisvs.nomoscould be applied to any subject, much like the modern contrast of "nature vs. nurture".

In Plato's Laws

In book 10 ofLaws,Plato criticizes those who write worksperi physeōs.The criticism is that such authors tend to focus on a purely "naturalistic" explanation of the world, ignoring the role of "intention" ortechnē,and thus becoming prone to the error of naiveatheism.Plato accuses evenHesiodof this, for the reason that the gods in Hesiod "grow" out of primordial entities after the physical universe had been established.

Because those who use the term mean to say that nature is the first creative power; but if the soul turns out to be the primeval element, and not fire or air, then in the truest sense and beyond other things the soul may be said to existbynature; and this would be true if you proved that the soul is older than the body, but not otherwise.

— Plato's Laws, Book 10(892c) –translation by Benjamin Jowett

Aristotle

Aristotle sought out the definition of "physis" to prove that there was more than one definition of "physis", and more than one way to interpret nature. "Though Aristotle retains the ancient sense of" physis "as growth, he insists that an adequate definition of" physis "requires the different perspectives of thefour causes(aitia): material, efficient, formal, and final. "Aristotle believed that nature itself contained its own source of matter (material), power/motion (efficiency), form, and end (final). A unique feature about Aristotle's definition of "physis" was his relationship between art and nature. Aristotle said that "physis" (nature) is dependent ontechne(art). "The critical distinction between art and nature concerns their different efficient causes: nature is its own source of motion, whereas techne always requires a source of motion outside itself."What Aristotle was trying to bring to light, was that art does not contain within itself its form or source of motion. Consider the process of an acorn becoming an oak tree. This is a natural process that has its own driving force behind it. There is no external force pushing this acorn to its final state, rather it is progressively developing towards one specific end (telos).

Atomists

Quite different conceptions of "physis" are to be found in other Greek traditions of thought, e.g. the so-called Atomists, whose thinking found a continuation in the writings ofEpicurus.For them, the world that appears is the result of an interplay betweenthe voidand the eternal movement of the “indivisible”, theatoms.This doctrine, most often associated with the namesDemocritusandLeucippus,is known mainly from the critical reactions to it in Aristotelian writings. It was supplemented byEpicurusin the light of developments in philosophy, in order to explain phenomena such as freedom of will. This was done by means of the theory ofatoms’“ability to deviate”, the parenklisis.

Christian theology

Main articles:Christian theologyandChristology

Though φύσις was often used in Hellenistic philosophy, it is used only 14 times in the New Testament (10 of those in the writings of Paul).Its meaning varies throughout Paul's writings.One usage refers to the established or natural order of things, as inRomans 2:14where Paul writes "For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, bynaturedo what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. "Another use of φύσις in the sense of "natural order" isRomans 1:26where he writes "the men likewise gave upnaturalrelations with women and were consumed with passion for one another ".In1 Corinthians 11:14,Paul asks "Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him?"

This use of φύσις as referring to a "natural order" inRomans 1:26and1 Corinthians 11:14may have been influenced byStoicism.The Greek philosophers, includingAristotleand the Stoics are credited with distinguishing between man-made laws and anatural lawof universal validity,butGerhard Kittelstates that the Stoic philosophers were not able to combine the concepts of νόμος (law) and φύσις (nature) to produce the concept of "natural law" in the sense that was made possible byJudeo-Christiantheology.

As part of thePauline theologyofsalvationbygrace,Paul writes inEphesians 2:3that "we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were bynaturechildren of wrath, like the rest of mankind. In the next verse he writes, "by grace you have been saved."

Usage in patristic theology

Main articles:Monophysitism,Miaphysitism,andDyophysitism

Theologians of the early Christian period differed in the usage of this term. InAntiochenecircles, it connoted the humanity or divinity of Christ conceived as a concrete set of characteristics or attributes. InAlexandrinethinking, it meant a concrete individual or independent existent and approximated tohypostasiswithout being a synonym.While it refers to much the same thing asousiait is more empirical and descriptive focussing on function while ousia is metaphysical and focuses more on reality.Although found in the context of theTrinitarian debate,it is chiefly important in theChristologyofCyril of Alexandria.

Modern usage

The Greek adjectivephysikosis represented in various forms in modern English: Asphysics"the study of nature", asphysical(via Middle Latinphysicalis) referring both to physics (the study of nature, the material universe) and to thehuman body.The termphysiology(physiologia) is of 16th-century coinage (Jean Fernel). The termphysique,for "the bodily constitution of a person", is a 19th-century loan from French.

In medicine the suffix-physisoccurs in such compounds assymphysis,epiphysis,and a few others, in the sense of "a growth". The physis also refers to the "growth plate",or site of growth at the end of long bones.

See also

• Nature
• Ontology
• Essence
• Ousia
• Substance theory

Sources

• Brock, Sebastian P.(2016)."Miaphysite, not Monophysite!".Cristianesimo Nella Storia.37(1): 45–52.ISBN9788815261687.
• Loon, Hans van (2009).The Dyophysite Christology of Cyril of Alexandria.Leiden-Boston: Brill.ISBN978-9004173224.
• Meyendorff, John(1983) [1974].Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal Themes(2nd revised ed.). New York: Fordham University Press.ISBN9780823209675.
• Meyendorff, John(1989).Imperial Unity and Christian Divisions: The Church 450–680 A.D.Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press.ISBN9780881410563.
• Weedman, Mark (2007).The Trinitarian Theology of Hilary of Poitiers.Leiden-Boston: Brill.ISBN978-9004162242.
• Winkler, Dietmar W. (1997)."Miaphysitism: A New Term for Use in the History of Dogma and in Ecumenical Theology".The Harp.10(3): 33–40.

External links

• Dunshirn, Alfred 2019: Physis [English version]. In: Kirchhoff, Thomas (ed.): Online Encyclopedia Philosophy of Nature / Online Lexikon Naturphilosophie. Heidelberg University Press.https://doi.org/10.11588/oepn.2019.0.66404