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acquired by perception, unless the term perception is applied to the possession
of scientific knowledge through demonstration. Nevertheless certain points do
arise with regard to connexions to be proved which are referred for their
explanation to a failure in sense-perception: there are cases when an act of
vision would terminate our inquiry, not because in seeing we should be
knowing, but because we should have elicited the universal from seeing; if,
for example, we saw the pores in the glass and the light passing through, the
reason of the kindling would be clear to us because we should at the same
time see it in each instance and intuit that it must be so in all instances.
32
All syllogisms cannot have the same basic truths. This may be shown first
of all by the following dialectical considerations. (1) Some syllogisms are true
and some false: for though a true inference is possible from false premisses,
yet this occurs once only-I mean if A for instance, is truly predicable of C, but
B, the middle, is false, both A-B and B-C being false; nevertheless, if middles
are taken to prove these premisses, they will be false because every
conclusion which is a falsehood has false premisses, while true conclusions
have true premisses, and false and true differ in kind. Then again, (2)
falsehoods are not all derived from a single identical set of principles: there
are falsehoods which are the contraries of one another and cannot coexist, e.g.
‘justice is injustice’, and ‘justice is cowardice’; ‘man is horse’, and ‘man is
ox’; ‘the equal is greater’, and ‘the equal is less.’ From established principles
we may argue the case as follows, confining-ourselves therefore to true
conclusions. Not even all these are inferred from the same basic truths; many
of them in fact have basic truths which differ generically and are not
transferable; units, for instance, which are without position, cannot take the
place of points, which have position. The transferred terms could only fit in as
middle terms or as major or minor terms, or else have some of the other terms
between them, others outside them.
Nor can any of the common axioms-such, I mean, as the law of excluded
middle-serve as premisses for the proof of all conclusions. For the kinds of
being are different, and some attributes attach to quanta and some to qualia
only; and proof is achieved by means of the common axioms taken in
conjunction with these several kinds and their attributes.
Again, it is not true that the basic truths are much fewer than the
conclusions, for the basic truths are the premisses, and the premisses are
formed by the apposition of a fresh extreme term or the interposition of a
fresh middle. Moreover, the number of conclusions is indefinite, though the
number of middle terms is finite; and lastly some of the basic truths are
189
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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