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presuppose, to guard against dialectical objections, any further qualifications
which might be added. This, then, is the most certain of all principles, since it
answers to the definition given above. For it is impossible for any one to
believe the same thing to be and not to be, as some think Heraclitus says. For
what a man says, he does not necessarily believe; and if it is impossible that
contrary attributes should belong at the same time to the same subject (the
usual qualifications must be presupposed in this premiss too), and if an
opinion which contradicts another is contrary to it, obviously it is impossible
for the same man at the same time to believe the same thing to be and not to
be; for if a man were mistaken on this point he would have contrary opinions
at the same time. It is for this reason that all who are carrying out a
demonstration reduce it to this as an ultimate belief; for this is naturally the
starting-point even for all the other axioms.
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4
There are some who, as we said, both themselves assert that it is possible
for the same thing to be and not to be, and say that people can judge this to be
the case. And among others many writers about nature use this language. But
we have now posited that it is impossible for anything at the same time to be
and not to be, and by this means have shown that this is the most indisputable
of all principles.-Some indeed demand that even this shall be demonstrated,
but this they do through want of education, for not to know of what things one
should demand demonstration, and of what one should not, argues want of
education. For it is impossible that there should be demonstration of
absolutely everything (there would be an infinite regress, so that there would
still be no demonstration); but if there are things of which one should not
demand demonstration, these persons could not say what principle they
maintain to be more self-evident than the present one.
We can, however, demonstrate negatively even that this view is impossible,
if our opponent will only say something; and if he says nothing, it is absurd to
seek to give an account of our views to one who cannot give an account of
anything, in so far as he cannot do so. For such a man, as such, is from the
start no better than a vegetable. Now negative demonstration I distinguish
from demonstration proper, because in a demonstration one might be thought
to be begging the question, but if another person is responsible for the
assumption we shall have negative proof, not demonstration. The starting-
point for all such arguments is not the demand that our opponent shall say that
1563
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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