substantiality

Substantiality is the quality or state of having substance, or of being substantial in a sense that is material, real, or significant. The term is used across disciplines to describe how much reality, importance, or weight a thing possesses, beyond surface appearance.

In philosophy, substantiality is tied to the concept of substance (ousia). It concerns what endures as the same thing through change and what grounds a thing’s identity. In Aristotle’s framework, matter and form unite to constitute a substance; the substantial form imparts essential identity, while matter supplies potential. In contemporary metaphysics, discussions of substantiality address questions of persistence, constitution, and whether objects have a fundamental underlying substance or are ontologically constituted through relations and properties.

In everyday language, substantiality can refer to material concreteness as well as significance. A plan or argument may be described as having substance if it offers robust reasons or important features. In law, policy, and journalism, phrases such as substantial evidence, substantial compliance, or substantial risk indicate adequacy, material relevance, or seriousness, rather than perfection.

Substantiality is often contrasted with accidental properties, contingent features, or mere appearances. It invites careful interpretation of what is being affirmed as real or important: is the focus on enduring substance, or on superficial attributes?

See also: substance, ontology, materiality, form and matter, essentialism.