Substance and matter are not synonymous terms

Evidence

Matter, at first sight, may naturally enough be considered as exactly synonymous to the word substance. It may undoubtedly be with propriety employed instead of substance on many of the occasions on which the word substance may, with equal propriety, be employed. … But there are occasions on which, while substance may, matter cannot, with propriety be employed. … By the word substance, substances incorporeal, as well as corporeal, are wont to be designated; the word matter is wont to be employed to designate corporeal to the exclusion of incorporeal substances. … On the other hand, neither are occasions wanting in which, while the word matter may, the word substance cannot, with propriety be employed. … Matter is wont to be employed in contradistinction to form; and that, on occasions in which the word substance cannot, with propriety, be employed. Thus, in considering substance, any individual substance, consideration may be had of its matter, without any consideration had of its form; and so vice versa of its form without its matter. — Jeremy Bentham, The Panopticon Writings, 443

Categorization

• DEFINE: Precise usage boundary: substance covers incorporeal entities, matter is paired with form.
• SEED: A vocabulary-precision essay could draw on Bentham’s distinction to show how word-choice boundaries materialize philosophical commitments.
• XREF: connects to: Matter and form are fictitious decompositions of substance — Jeremy Bentham, The Panopticon Writings, 450; Matter’s inherent spontaneity made activity primary in nature — Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology,…, 525

Related

• Matter and form are fictitious decompositions of substance (similarity 0.89)

Broader Connections

• Matter and form are fictitious decompositions of substance #expands (0.95) — Jeremy Bentham, The Panopticon Writings, 450