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fact is the possession of such a syllogism as we call demonstration, and the
ground of the syllogism is the facts constituting its premisses, we must not
only know the primary premisses-some if not all of them-beforehand, but
know them better than the conclusion: for the cause of an attribute’s inherence
in a subject always itself inheres in the subject more firmly than that attribute;
e.g. the cause of our loving anything is dearer to us than the object of our
love. So since the primary premisses are the cause of our knowledge-i.e. of
our conviction-it follows that we know them better-that is, are more
convinced of them-than their consequences, precisely because of our
knowledge of the latter is the effect of our knowledge of the premisses. Now a
man cannot believe in anything more than in the things he knows, unless he
has either actual knowledge of it or something better than actual knowledge.
But we are faced with this paradox if a student whose belief rests on
demonstration has not prior knowledge; a man must believe in some, if not in
all, of the basic truths more than in the conclusion. Moreover, if a man sets
out to acquire the scientific knowledge that comes through demonstration, he
must not only have a better knowledge of the basic truths and a firmer
conviction of them than of the connexion which is being demonstrated: more
than this, nothing must be more certain or better known to him than these
basic truths in their character as contradicting the fundamental premisses
which lead to the opposed and erroneous conclusion. For indeed the
conviction of pure science must be unshakable.
3
Some hold that, owing to the necessity of knowing the primary premisses,
there is no scientific knowledge. Others think there is, but that all truths are
demonstrable. Neither doctrine is either true or a necessary deduction from
the premisses. The first school, assuming that there is no way of knowing
other than by demonstration, maintain that an infinite regress is involved, on
the ground that if behind the prior stands no primary, we could not know the
posterior through the prior (wherein they are right, for one cannot traverse an
infinite series): if on the other hand-they say-the series terminates and there
are primary premisses, yet these are unknowable because incapable of
demonstration, which according to them is the only form of knowledge. And
since thus one cannot know the primary premisses, knowledge of the
conclusions which follow from them is not pure scientific knowledge nor
properly knowing at all, but rests on the mere supposition that the premisses
are true. The other party agree with them as regards knowing, holding that it
is only possible by demonstration, but they see no difficulty in holding that all
truths are demonstrated, on the ground that demonstration may be circular and
152
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book The Complete Aristotle"
The Complete Aristotle
- Title
- The Complete Aristotle
- Author
- Aristotle
- Date
- ~322 B.C.
- Language
- English
- License
- PD
- Size
- 21.0 x 29.7 cm
- Pages
- 2328
- Keywords
- Philosophy, Antique, Philosophie, Antike, Dialogues, Metaphysik, Metaphysics, Ideologie, Ideology, Englisch
- Categories
- Geisteswissenschaften
- International
Table of contents
- Part 1; Logic (Organon) 3
- Categories 4
- On Interpretation 34
- Prior Analytics, Book I 56
- Prior Analytics, Book II 113
- Posterior Analytics, Book I 149
- Posterior Analytics, Book II 193
- Topics, Book I 218
- Topics, Book II 221
- Topics, Book III 237
- Topics, Book IV 248
- Topics, Book V 266
- Topics, Book VI 291
- Topics, Book VII 317
- Topics, Book VIII 326
- On Sophistical Refutations 348
- Part 2; Universal Physics 396
- Physics, Book I 397
- Physics, Book II 415
- Physics, Book III 432
- Physics, Book IV 449
- Physics, Book V 481
- Physics, Book VI 496
- Physics, Book VII 519
- Physics, Book VIII 533
- On the Heavens, Book I 570
- On the Heavens, Book II 599
- On the Heavens, Book III 624
- On the Heavens, Book IV 640
- On Generation and Corruption, Book I 651
- On Generation and Corruption, Book II 685
- Meteorology, Book I 707
- Meteorology, Book II 733
- Meteorology, Book III 760
- Meteorology, Book IV 773
- Part 3; Human Physics 795
- On the Soul, Book I 796
- On the Soul, Book II 815
- On the Soul, Book III 840
- On Sense and the Sensible 861
- On Memory and Reminiscence 889
- On Sleep and Sleeplessness 899
- On Dreams 909
- On Prophesying by Dreams 918
- On Longevity and the Shortness of Life 923
- On Youth, Old Age, Life and Death, and Respiration 929
- Part 4; Animal Physics 952
- The History of Animals, Book I 953
- The History of Animals, Book II translated 977
- The History of Animals, Book III 1000
- The History of Animals, Book IV 1029
- The History of Animals, Book V 1056
- The History of Animals, Book VI 1094
- The History of Animals, Book VII 1135
- The History of Animals, Book VIII 1150
- The History of Animals, Book IX 1186
- On the Parts of Animals, Book I 1234
- On the Parts of Animals, Book II 1249
- On the Parts of Animals, Book III 1281
- On the Parts of Animals, Book IV 1311
- On the Motion of Animals 1351
- On the Gait of Animals 1363
- On the Generation of Animals, Book I 1381
- On the Generation of Animals, Book II 1412
- On the Generation of Animals, Book III 1444
- On the Generation of Animals, Book IV 1469
- On the Generation of Animals, Book V 1496
- Part 5; Metaphysics 1516
- Part 6; Ethics and Politics 1748
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book I 1749
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book II 1766
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book III 1779
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book IV 1799
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book V 1817
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book VI 1836
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book VII 1851
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book VIII 1872
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book IX 1890
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book X 1907
- Politics, Book I 1925
- Politics, Book II 1943
- Politics, Book III 1970
- Politics, Book IV 1997
- Politics, Book V 2023
- Politics, Book VI 2053
- Politics, Book VII 2065
- Politics, Book VIII 2091
- The Athenian Constitution 2102
- Part 7; Aesthetic Writings 2156