Summary

Aristotle's "Metaphysics," translated by Joe Sachs, embarks on a profound inquiry into the fundamental nature of reality. The work is divided into several key sections, beginning with a comprehensive introduction that explores the ways of writing, being, interpreting, and translating Aristotle's complex thought. This translation distinguishes itself through its commitment to conveying Aristotle's ideas with precision and clarity, diverging from modern philosophical lenses and conventional interpretations.

The book delves into preliminary inquiries that scrutinize the ultimate causes of things, challenging materialist accounts and emphasizing the necessity of primary instances in causal explanations. It addresses impasses concerning the knowability and universality of causes, contemplating how a single knowledge can encompass all things through first principles, such as the law of contradiction. The exploration extends to the role of language, suggesting that causal structures are reflected in the ambiguities of words, advocating for discovery over theoretical imposition.

At the heart of "Metaphysics" lies a central argument concerning the multifaceted nature of being. The discourse navigates through thinghood, form, and the interplay between potency and being-at-work, converging towards the ultimate cause of being. Aristotle examines form not as an arrangement of parts, but as an inherent being-at-work within material, leading to the postulation of an everlasting and indestructible being that serves as the source of identity and the good for all things. This exploration bridges into a conclusion that emphasizes wholeness and order, ultimately tracing the source of being to an act of thinking.

The culmination of the inquiry leads to the assertion of a being without material, eternally at work as an act of thinking. This being is identified as the motionless cause of the cosmos's circular motion, encompassing the forms of all beings. The treatise concludes with cautionary notes on misguided approaches to the source of being, particularly those grounded in mathematical concepts, ultimately inviting readers to orient themselves to Aristotle's primary vocabulary and engage with the intricacies of his metaphysical framework.