The Living and Metabolism in Hans Jonas and Edward Feser's Aristotelian-Thomistic Hylomorphism: Approximations and Differences

Abstract

In this article, I intend to present Hans Jonas' criticisms in the chapter "Third Essay. Is God a Mathematician? The Meaning of Metabolism from his work The Phenomenon Of Life/Toward a Philosophical Biology", to the mathematical-mechanistic conception of nature (materialism and Cartesian dualism), which are obstacles to a satisfactory philosophical-ontological explanation of life and its biological and ontological specificities. To this end, I will highlight the importance of metabolism, pointing out the ontological specificity of animate beings. At the same time, I will bring to the fore Jonas's criticisms of Cartesian dualism and epiphenomenalism. Finally, I intend to bring Jonas' position closer to the Aristotelian-Thomistic-inspired hylomorphic perspective defended by Edward Feser on the human person, with emphasis on the contributions made in the field of philosophical anthropology.