Lecture 3: The Categories

 

Readings

Supplementary Text

 

I. Introduction: 

    A. Two goals of the course: read and use Aristotle's logic.
    B. Tools of Building and Thinking.
 

II.    Need for the Categories: finding highest genera and specific differences.
    A. Outline of parts of treatise covered in this lecture.
    B. Preliminary distinctions.
        1. The meaning of equivocal.
            a. Meaning of Univocal. 
        2. The simple and composite expression.
        3. Predicated of and Present in.
            a. The word Category: predicate.
            b. The word Category: accusation.
        4. Sum up subject of treatise.
            a. Treatise is about words used univocally.
            b. Treatise is about simple expressions.
            c. Treatise is about essential predicates.
 

III.    Categories themselves
    A. There are ten highest genera.
    B. Substance.
        1. First sense of substance: ultimate subject of predication.
        2. Second sense of substance: species and genera of primary substances.
    C. Accidents.
        1. Basic notion of quantity.
            a. Distinguish continuous and discrete.
        2. Relation implies reference to another.
            a. Every relation has a correlative.
        3. General notion of Quality.
            a. Quality admits of contraries and Varies in degree.
 

IV.    Conclusion: we also need tools for difference. 

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