Primordial matter

Primordial matter or primordial substance is an old term for an unformed substance from which the universe was created through the influence of gods or forces . Concepts of a primordial matter are part of numerous old myths and philosophical teachings from different cultures around the world and are therefore often only known by the corresponding old names of the languages ​​of that time. The most important are:

• the “amorphous vapor” or the primeval formlessness Hun Dun in the Chinese creation myths
• the " Prakriti " in the Indian Samkhya philosophy
• the " apeiron " as the basic substance of the world as a whole in the cosmology of the Greek philosopher Anaximander
• the " four-element doctrine " of some pre-Socratics , according to which everything being is composed of 4 "essences" or parts
• the “ Chora ” in Plato's natural philosophy presented in the dialogue Timaeus
• the “ hyle ”, “ materia prima ” or the “ hypokeimenon ” in Aristotle's natural philosophy
• the “original principle of matter” in the materialistic theory of nature of the Greek philosopher Antiochus of Ascalon
• the "material substrate" in the metaphysics of the Jewish philosopher Solomon ibn Gabirol

See also:

• Matter (philosophy)
• Ancient cosmogony