Philosophy of Being » Metaphysics

Aristotle’s 5 Predicables Explained

Taylor Marshall — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 14:58:36 +0000

Aristotle predicables are not that difficult to understand. They are the five ways that we can speak about something. For example you can talk about a triangle specifically (definition or species) or generally (genus). You can talk about what makes a triangle different from other shapes (differentia). You can talk about it’s unique properties (propria) and you can talk about things that aren’t really essential triangles (accidentals)

Here are Aristotle’s “predicables” explained:

Definition or Species: a statement of the things essence (to ti en einai or “that which makes it what it is”). Aristotle called this “horos” or “definition.” Porphyry referred to this as “eidos” or “form.” Boethius introduced into the Latin tradition as “species.” It denotes the specific essence of a thing.
Genus: Genus is that part of the essence which is also predicable of other things different from them in kind. The key to understand “genus” is that it is “general.” For example the “genus” of a triangle would be that it is a “shape.”
Differentia: that which distinguishes one species from another within a genus. The square species and triangle species are differentiated from one another within the shape genus by the number of their sides. Triangles have three. Squares have four.
Propria: A “property” is an attribute which is common to all the members of a class, but is not part of its essence or definition. The fact that the interior angles of all triangles are equal to two right angles is not part of the definition, but is universally true.
Accidentia: An accident is an attribute which may or may not belong to a subject. With a “green triangle” the color green is “accidental” – it is not something essential to “triangle-ness.”

Outline of Aristotle’s Metaphysics

Taylor Marshall — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 17:45:57 +0000

Aristotle’s Metaphysics consists of fourteen (14) books of various lengths, often without any obvious order or relation to prior books. The books are referred to by either Arabic numerals or Greek letters–something rather confusing to new students of the Metaphysics. The confusion is made worse by the fact that Book One is “Big Alpha” and Book Two is “Little Alpha” so that the numbers don’t correspond directly to what one might assume to be the Greek letters. Here is a brief outline:

1, “Big” Alpha – “first philosophy” as the science of the first principles or causes of things

2, “Little” Alpha – method and rejection of infinite regresses

3, Beta – list of metaphysical “aporiai” or puzzles

4, Gamma – logical assumption of the Principle of Non-Contradiction and the Principle of the Excluded Middle

5, Delta – Aristotle’s Dictionary of Terms (just remember “delta” does with “dictionary”)

6, Epsilon – Metaphysics is the study of being as being and thus it is Theology (study of God/gods), because the highest substance (God) is the Principle of all Being.

7, Zeta – Aristotle lists four candidates for being/ousia/substance as 1) subject, 2) universal, 3) genus, and 4) essence.

8, Eta

9, Theta

10, Iota – One and many, sameness and difference.

11, Kappa – Review of things said already and of things stated in Aristotle’s Physics.

12, Lambda – The “Theology” Book. Aristotle examines the first principles or “gods”. Aristotle discusses the unmoved mover(s).

13, Mu – Mathematics and numbers

14, Nu – Mathematics and numbers continued

Aristotle’s Vocabulary

Taylor Marshall — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:08:46 +0000

Aristotle’s Book Delta of his Metaphysics is commonly called Aristotle’s dictionary or lexicon. Below is a helpful list of Greek words used by Aristotle organized by their commonly accepted English equivalents.

This list is derived from Marc Cohen’s article “Aristotle’s Metaphysics” in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

•   accident: sumbebêkos (kata sumbebhko,j)
•   accidental: kata sumbebêkos (kata sumbebhko,j)
•   account: logos
•   actuality: energeia, entelecheia
•   alteration: alloiôsis
•   affirmative: kataphatikos
•   assertion: apophansis (sentence with a truth value, declarative sentence)
•   assumption: hupothesis
•   attribute: pathos
•   axiom: axioma
•   be: einai
•   being(s): on, onta
•   belong: huparchein
•   category: katêgoria
•   cause: aition, aitia
•   change: kinêsis, metabolê
•   come to be: gignesthai
•   coming to be: genesis
•   contradict: antiphanai
•   contradiction: antiphasis (in the sense “contradictory pair of propositions” and also in the sense “denial of a proposition”)
•   contrary: enantion
•   definition: horos, horismos
•   demonstration: apodeixis
•   denial (of a proposition): apophasis
•   dialectic: dialektikê
•   differentia: diaphora; specific difference, eidopoios diaphora
•   distinctive: idios, idion
•   end: telos
•   essence: to ti ên einai, to ti esti
•   essential: en tôi ti esti, en tôi ti ên einai (of predications); kath’ hauto (of attributes)
•   exist: einai
•   explanation: aition, aitia
•   final cause: hou heneka (literally, “what something is for”)
•   form: eidos, morphê
•   formula: logos (lo,goj)
•   function: ergon
•   genus: genos
•   homonymous: homônumon
•   immediate: amesos
•   impossible: adunaton
•   in respect of itself: kath’ hauto
•   individual: atomon, tode ti
•   induction: epagôgê
•   infinite: apeiron
•   kind: genos, eidos
•   knowledge: epistêmê
•   matter: hulê
•   movement: kinêsis
•   nature: phusis
•   negation (of a term): apophasis
•   particular: en merei, epi meros (of a proposition); kath’hekaston (of individuals)
•   peculiar: idios, idion
•   per se: kath’ hauto
•   perception: aisthêsis
•   perplexity: aporia
•   possible: dunaton, endechomenon; endechesthai (verb: “be possible”)
•   potentially: dunamei
•   potentiality: dunamis
•   predicate: katêgorein (verb); katêegoroumenon(“what is predicated”)
•   predication: katêgoria (act or instance of predicating, type of predication)
•   principle: archê (starting point of a demonstration)
•   qua: hêi
•   quality: poion
•   quantity: poson
•   refute: elenchein, refutation, elenchos
•   separate: chôriston (cwristo,n)
•   said in many ways: pollachôs legetai
•   science: epistêmê
•   soul: psuchê
•   species: eidos
•   specific: eidopoios (of a differentia that “makes a species”, eidopoios diaphora)
•   subject: hupokeimenon (u`pokei,menon)
•   substance: ousia (ouvsia)
•   term: horos
•   this: tode ti (to,de ti)
•   universal: katholou (both of propositions and of individuals)
•   wisdom: sophia