The Whole Is Greater Than The

This famous formulation is a paraphrase. In Metaphysics 1045a8–10, Aristotle actually writes that a unified whole is something "besides" or "beyond" a mere heap of its parts, not "greater than the sum." He argues the cause of unity lies in the relationship between matter (potentiality) and form (actuality). The popular wording likely arose from conflation with Euclid's axiom "the whole is greater than the part."