The paper examines the fortunes of Aristotelian metaphysics in science and the
philosophy of science. It considers the Enlightenment claim that such a metaphysics is
fundamentally unscientific, and that its abandonment was essential to the scientific revolution.
The history of the scientific revolution and the metaphysical debates involved in it is
examined, and it is argued that the eclipse of Aristotelian views was neither complete, nor
merited. The evolution of Humeian and positivist accounts of science is described, and it is
shown how the severe problems with these accounts, together with a revival of Aristotelian
concepts in philosophy, have led to the rebirth of broadly Aristotelian accounts of the
metaphysics underlying science.