Points of Form and Other Minima: Hylomorphism and Indivisibles in the Circle of John Mair

This paper presents the views on the ultimate components of matter and form advocated by John Mair and several thinkers connected to his circle. It aims at showing that, while some philosophers active in the circle of John Mair had fairly standard views on natural minima and indivisible entities like points, others—first and foremost John Mair—proposed highly original interpretations of hylomorphism according to which the two principles of matter and form are composed of points. The first part of the paper presents John Mair’s view on matter and form, which can be described as a pointillist interpretation of hylomorphism (Sect. 2). The next sections present the diverging views of Luis Coronel (Sect. 3), Juan de Celaya (Sect. 4), and Diego de Astudillo (Sect. 5). The comparative analysis of their positions demonstrate the centrality of the problem of indivisibles in the circle of John Mair, as well as the flexibility with which, at the turn of the sixteenth century, one could easily integrate corpuscularian and indivisibilist theses into an Aristotelian-based physics.