ALLOIOSIS is ‘change’. This ancient Greek term implies a qualitative alteration. Therefore it does not refer to changes of quantity, for example.

In order to better define <alloiosis>, let us recall Aristoteles (Aristotle) and his notion of ‘movement’ (<metabolé>). According to the pupil of Platon (Plato), the first meaning of ‘movement’ is the simple action of changing place. For instance, it is moving from one location to another. For this first denotation the Greek word is <phorà>. If you move from New York to Washington DC, this is an example of <phorà>. A different meaning refers to quantitative change. It is a change in dimension, number, weight or other properties implying the idea of ‘more’ or ‘less’. For this second interpretation the Greek words are <aúxesis> and <fthísis>. If you add five more apples to your bag of ten apples, this is an example of <aúxesis> and <fthísis>. A third kind of change is represented by the words <ghénesis> (meaning ‘generation’) and <fthorá> (meaning ‘deterioration’). As a fourth meaning there is the qualitative variation of the word <alloiosis>.

Aristoteles is very clear in affirming that ‘change’ is a phenomenon which does not apply to everything. In order to be the subject of a ‘change’, the concerned thing has to be ‘changeable’. For instance, the mathematical entity “pi” cannot change in any way. Furthermore, changeable things can change but not beyond their congenital limits (a seed cannot become a brick but only a plant, a flower, a tree). In short, <alloiosis> is ‘change’, ‘exchange’, ‘alteration’ but any change takes place in coherence with some universal rules.