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Ch1 – Quality and Quantity

Guenon asserts the metaphysical duality of Quantity/Quality of all manifestation. He shows that “quality” and “quantity” is expressed in different traditions as Purusha/Prakriti, Essence/Substance, and—as applied to individual beings—as Nama/Rupa, Form/Matter, and even as Act/Potency. Moreover, these dual principles operate absolutely at the universal level and analogically at subordinate levels (world, individual being, and intra-being).

Universal Duality of Principles

Key Idea: At the very foundation of all manifestation there exists a duality—expressed as Quality and Quantity—which, according to Guenon, is identical to the Hindu duality of Purusha and Prakriti and, in other terminology, to that of Essence and Substance.

Supporting Quote:

“…this [duality] is the first of all cosmic dualities, is a starting point, for it is situated at the very principle of existence or of universal manifestation, and without it no manifestation would be possible in any mode whatsoever: it is the duality of Purusha and Prakriti according to the Hindu doctrine, or to use another terminology, that of ‘essence’ and ‘substance.’ Its two terms must be envisaged as universal principles and as being the two poles of all manifestation;…”

Note: This establishes that the qualitative side (quality/essence) and the quantitative side (quantity/substance) are the two fundamental poles from which all being flows.

Levels of Manifestation and Relative Application

Key Idea: Guenon emphasizes that this duality functions not only absolutely at the universal level but also analogically at more limited or relative levels. In other words, while the principles are universal, they also appear:

At the Universal Level (Absolute): As the foundational poles of all manifestation.
At the World Level (Relative): In relation to a “world,” that is, to a state of existence determined by certain special conditions.
At the Being Level (Relative): In the case of an individual being considered as a separate entity.
At the Intra-Being Level (Relative): In each of the successive states or degrees of that being’s manifestation.

Supporting Quote:

“Thus, it is that essence and substance can be spoken of in relation either to a world, that is to say to a state of existence determined by certain special conditions, or in relation to a being considered as a separate entity, or even to each of the states of that being, that is to say, to its manifestation in each of the degrees of existence.”

Note: This layered view ensures that the duality is not a one-size-fits-all concept but adapts to the particularized domains within universal manifestation.

Multiple Correspondences of Terms and Their Traditions

Key Idea: Once the levels are established, Guenon shows that various terms used in different traditions and philosophical schools are equivalent—each expressing one side of the duality at appropriate levels:

Quality / Essence / Form / Nama / Act:

Quality/Essence: The intrinsic nature or the content of being.
Form (Scholastic, corresponding to Aristotle’s eidos): Expresses the immanent, qualitative principle common to a species.
Nama (Hindu): In the special case of individual beings, the “name” of a being expresses its essence.
Act (Aristotle, Being Level): “Act is that in him by which he participates in essence.”



Quantity / Substance / Matter / Rūpa / Potency:

Quantity/Substance: The determination by special conditions.
Matter (Scholastic, though the term is problematic): Meant as the substantial aspect, not as modern “matter.”
Rūpa (Hindu): For individual beings, the “form” in its material aspect.
Potency (Aristotle, Being Level): “Potency is that in him by which he participates in substance.”

Supporting Quotes:

“If consideration is confined to the special case of individual beings, the ‘form’ and the ‘matter’ that constitute those beings are respectively identical with what the Hindu tradition designates as nama and rúpa.”

“…the Aristotelian designations ‘act’ and ‘potency’ also correspond to essence and substance. Aristotle’s terms… come back to the same thing in the end, for act is that in him by which he participates in essence, and potency is that in him by which he participates in substance.”

Note: In summary, the traditional correspondences can be “tagged” as follows:

- Nama/Rūpa [Hindu, Being Level]

- Form/Matter [Scholastic/Aristotelian, relative to individual beings]

- Act/Potency [Aristotle, Being Level]

All these pairs express, in different idioms, the same underlying duality.

Philosophical Clarifications: Plato, Aristotle, and the Scholastics

Key Idea: Guenon also clarifies how various philosophical systems articulate these principles:

Plato emphasizes the transcendent aspect, with his “ideas” (which are essentially essences).
Aristotle focuses on the immanent, using eidos—a term which means “species” or “nature,” thus linking to the qualitative dimension.
The Scholastics’ “form” is essentially a translation of Aristotle’s eidos; however, the term has become equivocal due to modern usage.
Moreover, Platonic ideas are, by direct filiation, identical with Pythagorean numbers, which—far from being merely quantitative—are purely qualitative.

Supporting Quotes:

“It is of interest to note on the other hand that the ‘form’ of the scholastics is what Aristotle calls eidos, and that this latter word is also used to mean ‘species,’ which is properly speaking a nature or an essence common to an indefinite multitude of individuals. Specific nature is of a purely qualitative order… independent of quantity…”

“Moreover, … the Platonic ideas, under another name and by direct filiation, are the same thing as the Pythagorean numbers; and this shows clearly that although the Pythagorean numbers… are in no way numbers in the ordinary quantitative sense of the word, they are on the contrary purely qualitative.”

Note: This underscores that while modern thought often reduces reality to numerical quantity, the traditional view understands these numbers (or ideas) as signifiers of an inherent qualitative essence.

Quantity’s Immediate Link with Substance

Key Idea: In contrast to quality, which expresses the essential, qualitative nature of being, quantity is directly connected with substance—that is, with the aspect of manifestation conditioned by our world’s special circumstances.

Supporting Quote:

“On the other hand, when Saint Thomas Aquinas says that numerus stat ex parte materiae, he is speaking of quantitative number, thereby affirming decisively that quantity has an immediate connection with the substantial side of manifestation.”

Note: Here, the term “materia” is understood in the scholastic sense—not as modern “matter,” but as substance (whether that be in its relative sense as combined with form or as the passive principle, materia prima, equivalent to Prakriti in the Hindu doctrine).