An Unsettled Legacy

An Overview of the Main Problems of Aristotle's Metaphysics in the Last Century

Abstract

The aim of this article is to present a concise overview of the main problems faced by three major generations of interpreters of Aristotle’s Metaphysics over the past century. It begins with a brief reflection on the relationship between a philosophical work and its historical reception, with emphasis on the active role of the interpreter and the contextual conditions that shape the act of reading. Subsequently, three generations of interpreters are highlighted – each one associated with a specific philosophical tradition that informs their respective approaches – organized around three central interpretative issues: (i) the tension between ontology and theology, characteristic of the first generation, represented by thinkers such as Natorp and Jaeger; (ii) the problem of being as the object of ontology, which defines the second generation, with figures like Aubenque and G. E. L. Owen; and (iii) the question of substance, which has become the focus of the most recent debates in the contemporary interpretative landscape.