28Analyt. Prior. II. xvii. p. 65, a. 38: ὃ πολλάκις ἐν τοῖς λόγοις εἰώθαμεν λέγειν, &c. That theReductio ad Absurdumwas sometimes made to turn upon matters wholly irrelevant, we may see from the illustration cited by Aristotle, p. 65, b. 17.
28Analyt. Prior. II. xvii. p. 65, a. 38: ὃ πολλάκις ἐν τοῖς λόγοις εἰώθαμεν λέγειν, &c. That theReductio ad Absurdumwas sometimes made to turn upon matters wholly irrelevant, we may see from the illustration cited by Aristotle, p. 65, b. 17.
29In this chapter of the Analytica, Aristotle designates the present fallacy by the title,Non per Hoc, οὐ παρὰ τοῦτο — οὐ παρὰ τὴν θέσιν συμβαίνει τὸ ψεῦδος. He makes express reference to the Topica (i.e.to the fifth chapter of Sophist. Elenchi, which he regards as part of the Topica), where the same fallacy is designated by a different title,Non Causa pro Causâ, τὸ ἀναίτιον ὡς αἴτιον τιθέναι. We see plainly that this chapter of the Anal. Priora was composed later than the fifth chapter of Soph. El.; whether this is true of the two treatises as wholes is not so certain. I think it probable that the change of designation for the same fallacy was deliberately adopted. It is an improvement to dismiss the vague term Cause.
29In this chapter of the Analytica, Aristotle designates the present fallacy by the title,Non per Hoc, οὐ παρὰ τοῦτο — οὐ παρὰ τὴν θέσιν συμβαίνει τὸ ψεῦδος. He makes express reference to the Topica (i.e.to the fifth chapter of Sophist. Elenchi, which he regards as part of the Topica), where the same fallacy is designated by a different title,Non Causa pro Causâ, τὸ ἀναίτιον ὡς αἴτιον τιθέναι. We see plainly that this chapter of the Anal. Priora was composed later than the fifth chapter of Soph. El.; whether this is true of the two treatises as wholes is not so certain. I think it probable that the change of designation for the same fallacy was deliberately adopted. It is an improvement to dismiss the vague term Cause.
30Ibid. II. xvii. p. 66, a. 11: ἐπεὶ ταὐτό γε ψεῦδος συμβαίνειν διὰ πλειόνων ὑποθέσεων οὐδὲν ἴσως ἄτοπον, οἷον τὰς παραλλήλους συμπίπτειν, &c.
30Ibid. II. xvii. p. 66, a. 11: ἐπεὶ ταὐτό γε ψεῦδος συμβαίνειν διὰ πλειόνων ὑποθέσεων οὐδὲν ἴσως ἄτοπον, οἷον τὰς παραλλήλους συμπίπτειν, &c.
31Ibid. II. xviii. p. 66, a. 16-24: ὁ δὲ ψευδὴς λόγος γίνεται παρὰ τὸ πρῶτον ψεῦδος, &c.
31Ibid. II. xviii. p. 66, a. 16-24: ὁ δὲ ψευδὴς λόγος γίνεται παρὰ τὸ πρῶτον ψεῦδος, &c.
In impugning the thesis and in extracting from your opponent the proper concessions to enable you to do so, you will take care to put the interrogations in such form and order as will best disguise the final conclusion which you aim at establishing. If you intend to arrive at it through preliminary syllogisms (prosyllogisms), you will ask assent to the necessary premisses in a confused or inverted order, and will refrain from enunciating at once the conclusion from any of them. Suppose that you wish to end by showing that A may be predicated of F, and suppose that there must be intervening steps through B, C, D, E. You will not put the questions in this regular order, but will first ask him to grant that A may be predicatedof B; next, that D may be predicated of E; afterwards, that B may be predicated of C, &c. You will thus try to obtain all the concessions requisite for your final conclusion, before he perceives your drift. If you can carry your point by only one syllogism, and have only one middle term to get conceded, you will do well to put the middle term first in your questions. This is the best way to conceal your purpose from the respondent.32
32Analyt. Prior. II. xix. p. 66, a. 33-b. 3: χρὴ δ’ ὅπερ φιλάττεσθαι παραγγέλλομεν ἀποκρινομένους, αὐτοὺς ἐπιχειροῦντας πειρᾶσθαι λανθάνειν. — κἂν δι’ ἑνὸς μέσου γίνηται ὁ συλλογισμός, ἀπὸ τοῦ μέσου ἄρχεσθαι· μάλιστα γὰρ ἂν οὕτω λάνθανοι τὸν ἀποκρινόμενον. See the explanation of Pacius, p. 385. Since the middle term does not appear in the conclusion, the respondent is less likely to be prepared for the conclusion that you want to establish. To put the middle term first, in enunciating the Syllogism, is regarded by Aristotle as a perverted and embarrassing order, yet it is the received practice among modern logicians.
32Analyt. Prior. II. xix. p. 66, a. 33-b. 3: χρὴ δ’ ὅπερ φιλάττεσθαι παραγγέλλομεν ἀποκρινομένους, αὐτοὺς ἐπιχειροῦντας πειρᾶσθαι λανθάνειν. — κἂν δι’ ἑνὸς μέσου γίνηται ὁ συλλογισμός, ἀπὸ τοῦ μέσου ἄρχεσθαι· μάλιστα γὰρ ἂν οὕτω λάνθανοι τὸν ἀποκρινόμενον. See the explanation of Pacius, p. 385. Since the middle term does not appear in the conclusion, the respondent is less likely to be prepared for the conclusion that you want to establish. To put the middle term first, in enunciating the Syllogism, is regarded by Aristotle as a perverted and embarrassing order, yet it is the received practice among modern logicians.
It will be his business to see that he is not thus tripped up in the syllogistic process.33If you ask the questions in the order above indicated, without enunciating your preliminary conclusions, he must take care not to concede the same term twice, either as predicate, or as subject, or as both; for you can arrive at no conclusion unless he grants you a middle term; and no term can be employed as middle, unless it be repeated twice. Knowing the conditions of a conclusion in each of the three figures, he will avoid making such concessions as will empower you to conclude in any one of them.34If the thesis which he defends is affirmative, theelenchusby which you impugn it must be a negative; so that he will be careful not to concede the premisses for a negative conclusion. If his thesis be negative, your purpose will require you to meet him by an affirmative; accordingly he must avoid granting you any sufficient premisses for an affirmative conclusion. He may thus make it impossible for you to prove syllogistically the contrary or contradictory of his thesis; and it is in proving this that theelenchusor refutation consists. If he will not grant you any affirmative proposition, nor any universal proposition, you know, by the rules previously laid down, that no valid syllogism can be constructed; since nothing can be inferred either from two premisses both negative, or from two premisses both particular.35
33Analyt Prior. II. xix. p. 66, a. 25-32: πρὸς δὲ τὸ μὴ κατασυλλογίζεσθαι παρατηρητέον, ὅταν ἄνευ τῶν συμπερασμάτων ἐρωτᾷ τὸν λόγον, &c.Waitz (p. 520) explains κατασυλλογίζεσθαι, “disputationum et interrogationum laqueis aliquem irretire.â€� This is, I think, more correct than the distinction which M. Barthélemy St. Hilaire seeks to draw, “entre le Catasyllogisme et la Réfutation,â€� in the valuable notes to his translation of the Analytica Priora, p. 303.
33Analyt Prior. II. xix. p. 66, a. 25-32: πρὸς δὲ τὸ μὴ κατασυλλογίζεσθαι παρατηρητέον, ὅταν ἄνευ τῶν συμπερασμάτων ἐρωτᾷ τὸν λόγον, &c.
Waitz (p. 520) explains κατασυλλογίζεσθαι, “disputationum et interrogationum laqueis aliquem irretire.â€� This is, I think, more correct than the distinction which M. Barthélemy St. Hilaire seeks to draw, “entre le Catasyllogisme et la Réfutation,â€� in the valuable notes to his translation of the Analytica Priora, p. 303.
34Ibid. II. xix. p. 66, a. 25-32.
34Ibid. II. xix. p. 66, a. 25-32.
35Ibid. xx. p. 66, b. 4-17. The reader will observe how completely this advice given by Aristotle is shaped for the purpose of obtaining victory in the argument and how he leaves out of consideration both the truth of what the opponent asks to be conceded, and the belief entertained by the defendant. This is exactly the procedure which he himself makes a ground of contemptuous reproach against the Sophists.
35Ibid. xx. p. 66, b. 4-17. The reader will observe how completely this advice given by Aristotle is shaped for the purpose of obtaining victory in the argument and how he leaves out of consideration both the truth of what the opponent asks to be conceded, and the belief entertained by the defendant. This is exactly the procedure which he himself makes a ground of contemptuous reproach against the Sophists.
We have already seen that error may arise by wrong enunciation or arrangement of the terms of a syllogism, that is, defects in its form; but sometimes also, even when the form is correct, error may arise from wrong belief as to the matters affirmed or denied.36Thus the same predicate may belong, immediately and essentially, alike to several distinct subjects; but you may believe (what is the truth) that it belongs to one of them, and you may at the same time believe (erroneously) that it does not belong to another. Suppose that A is predicable essentially both of B and C, and that A, B, and C, are all predicable essentially of D. You may know that A is predicable of all B, and that B is predicable of all D; but you may at the same time believe (erroneously) that A is not predicable of any C, and that C is predicable of all D. Under this state of knowledge and belief, you may construct two valid syllogisms; the first (inBarbara, with B for its middle term) proving that A belongs toallD; the second (inCelarent, with C for its middle term) proving that A belongs tonoD. The case will be the same, even if all the terms taken belong to the same ascending or descending logical series. Here, then, youknowone proposition; yet youbelievethe proposition contrary to it.37How can such a mental condition be explained? It would, indeed, be an impossibility, if the middle term of the two syllogisms were the same, and if the premisses of the one syllogism thus contradicted directly and in terms, the premisses of the other: should that happen, you cannot know one side of the alternative and believe the other. But if the middle term be different, so that the contradiction between the premisses of the one syllogism and those of the other, is not direct, there is no impossibility. Thus, you know that A is predicable of all B, and B of all D; while you believe at the same time that A is predicable ofnoC, and C ofallD; the middle term being in one syllogism B, in the other, C.38This last form of error is analogous to what often occurs in respect to our knowledge of particulars. You know that A belongs to all B, and B to all C; you know, therefore, that A belongs to all C. Yet you mayperhaps be ignorant of the existence of C. Suppose A to denote equal to two right angles; B, to be the triangle generally; C, a particular visible triangle. You know A B the universal proposition; yet you may at the same time believe that C does not exist; and thus it may happen that you know, and do not know, the same thing at the same time. For, in truth, the knowledge, that every triangle has its three angles equal to two right angles, is not (as a mental fact) simple and absolute, but has two distinct aspects; one as concerns the universal, the other as concerns the several particulars. Now, assuming the case above imagined, you possess the knowledge in the first of these two aspects, but not in the second; so that the apparent contrariety between knowledge and no knowledge is not real.39And in this sense the doctrine of Plato in the Menon is partially true — that learning is reminiscence. We can never know beforehand particular casesper se; but in proportion as we extend our induction to each casesuccessively, we, as it were, recognize that, which we knew beforehand as a general truth, to be realized in each. Thus when we ascertain the given figure before us to be a triangle, we know immediately that its three angles are equal to two right angles.40
36Analyt. Prior. II. xxi. p. 66, b. 18: συμβαίνει δ’ ἐνίοτε, καθάπερ ἐν τῇ θέσει τῶν ὅρων ἀπατώμεθα, καὶ κατὰ τὴν ὑπόληψιν γίνεσθαι τὴν ἀπάτην.The vague and general way in which Aristotle uses the term ὑπόληψις, seems to be best rendered by our wordbelief. See Trendelenburg ad Aristot. De Animâ, p. 469; Biese, Philos. des Aristot. i. p. 211.
36Analyt. Prior. II. xxi. p. 66, b. 18: συμβαίνει δ’ ἐνίοτε, καθάπερ ἐν τῇ θέσει τῶν ὅρων ἀπατώμεθα, καὶ κατὰ τὴν ὑπόληψιν γίνεσθαι τὴν ἀπάτην.
The vague and general way in which Aristotle uses the term ὑπόληψις, seems to be best rendered by our wordbelief. See Trendelenburg ad Aristot. De Animâ, p. 469; Biese, Philos. des Aristot. i. p. 211.
37Ibid. II. xxi. p. 66, b. 33: ὥστε ὅ πως ἐπίσταται, τοῦτο ὅλως ἀξιοῖ μὴ ὑπολαμβάνειν· ὅπερ ἀδύνατον.
37Ibid. II. xxi. p. 66, b. 33: ὥστε ὅ πως ἐπίσταται, τοῦτο ὅλως ἀξιοῖ μὴ ὑπολαμβάνειν· ὅπερ ἀδύνατον.
38Ibid. II. xxi. p. 67, a. 5-8.
38Ibid. II. xxi. p. 67, a. 5-8.
39Analyt. Prior. II. xxi. p. 67, a. 19: οὕτω μὲν οὖν ὡς τῇ καθόλου οὖδε το Γ ὅτι δύο ὀρθαί, ὡς δὲ τῇ καθ’ ἕκαστον οὐκ οἶδεν, ὥστ’ οὐχ ἕξει τὰς ἐναντίας (sc. ἐπιστήμος).
39Analyt. Prior. II. xxi. p. 67, a. 19: οὕτω μὲν οὖν ὡς τῇ καθόλου οὖδε το Γ ὅτι δύο ὀρθαί, ὡς δὲ τῇ καθ’ ἕκαστον οὐκ οἶδεν, ὥστ’ οὐχ ἕξει τὰς ἐναντίας (sc. ἐπιστήμος).
40Ibid. a. 22: οὐδαμοῦ γὰρ συμβαίνει προεπίστασθαι τὸ καθ’ ἕκαστον, ἀλλ’ ἅμα τῇ ἐπαγωγῇ λαμβάνειν τὴν τῶν κατὰ μέρος ἐπιστήμηνὥσπερ ἀναγνωρίζοντας, &c. Cf. Anal. Post. I. ii. p. 71, b. 9, seq.; Plato, Menon, pp. 81-82.
40Ibid. a. 22: οὐδαμοῦ γὰρ συμβαίνει προεπίστασθαι τὸ καθ’ ἕκαστον, ἀλλ’ ἅμα τῇ ἐπαγωγῇ λαμβάνειν τὴν τῶν κατὰ μέρος ἐπιστήμηνὥσπερ ἀναγνωρίζοντας, &c. Cf. Anal. Post. I. ii. p. 71, b. 9, seq.; Plato, Menon, pp. 81-82.
We thus, by help of the universal, acquire a theoretical knowledge of particulars, but we do not know them by the special observation properly belonging to each particular case: so that we may err in respect to them without any positive contrariety between our cognition and our error; since what we know is the universal, while what we err in is the particular. We may even know that A is predicable of all B, and that B is predicable of all C; and yet we may believe that A is not predicable of C. We may know that every mule is barren, and that the animal before us is a mule, yet still we may believe her to be in foal; for perhaps we may never have combined in our minds the particular case along with the universal proposition.41A fortiori, therefore, we may make the like mistake, if we know the universal only, and do not know the particular. And this is perfectly possible. For take any one of the visible particular instances, even one which we have already inspected, so soon as it is out of sight we do not know it by actual and presentcognition; we only know it, partly from the remembrance of past special inspection, partly from the universal under which it falls.42We may know in one, or other, or all, of these three distinct ways: either by the universal; or specially (as remembered): or by combination of both — actual and present cognition, that is, by the application of a foreknown generality to a case submitted to our senses. And as we may know in each of these three ways, so we may also err or be deceived in each of the same three ways.43It is therefore quite possible that we may know, and that we may err or be deceived about the same thing, and that, too, without any contrariety. This is what happens when we know both the two premisses of the syllogism, but have never reflected on them before, nor brought them into conjunction in our minds. When we believe that the mule before us is in foal, we are destitute of the actual knowledge; yet our erroneous belief is not for that reason contrary to knowledge; for an erroneous belief, contrary to the universal proposition, must be represented by a counter-syllogism.44
41Ibid. II. xxi. p. 67, a. 36: οὐ γὰρ ἐπίσταται ὅτι τὸ Α τῷ Γ,μὴ συνθεωρῶντὸ καθ’ ἑκάτερον.
41Ibid. II. xxi. p. 67, a. 36: οὐ γὰρ ἐπίσταται ὅτι τὸ Α τῷ Γ,μὴ συνθεωρῶντὸ καθ’ ἑκάτερον.
42Analyt. Prior. II. xxi. p. 67, a. 39: οὐδὲν γὰρ τῶν αἰσθητῶν ἔξω τῆς αἰσθήσεως γενόμενον ἴσμεν, οὔδ’ ἂν ᾐσθημένοι τυγχάνωμεν, εἰ μὴ ὡς τῷ καθόλου καὶ τῷ ἔχειν τὴν οἰκείαν ἐπιστήμην, ἀλλ’οὐχ ὡς τῷ ἐνεργεῖν.Complete cognition (τὸ ἐνεργεῖν, according to the view here set forth) consists of one mental act corresponding to the major premiss; another corresponding to the minor; and a third including both the two in conscious juxta-position. The third implies both the first and the second; but the first and the second do not necessarily imply the third, nor does either of them imply the other; though a person cognizant of the first isin a certain way, and to a certain extent, cognizant ofallthe particulars to which the second applies. Thus the person who knows Ontology (the most universal of all sciences, τοῦ ὄντος ᾗ ὄν), knowsin a certain wayallscibilia. Metaphys.A., p. 982, a. 21: τούτων δὲ τὸ μὲν πάντα ἐπίστασθαι τῷ μάλιστα ἔχοντι τὴν καθόλου ἐπιστήμην ἀναγκαῖον ὑπάρχειν· οὕτος γὰροἶδέ πωςπάντα τὰ ὑποκείμενα. Ib. a. 8: ὑπολαμβάνομεν δὴ πρῶτον μὲν ἐπίστασθαι πάντα τὸν σοφὸν ὡςἐνδέχεται, μὴ καθ’ ἕκαστον ἔχοντα ἐπιστήμην αὐτῶν. See the Scholia of Alexander on these passages, pp. 525, 526, Brandis; also Aristot. Analyt. Post. I. xxiv. p. 86, a. 25; Physica, VII. p. 247, a. 5. Bonitz observes justly (Comm.adMetaphys. p. 41) as to the doctrine of Aristotle: “Scientia et ars versatur in notionibus universalibus, solutis ac liberis à conceptu singularum rerum; ideoque,etsi orta est à principio et experientiâ, tradi tamen etiam iis potest qui careant experientiâ.â€�
42Analyt. Prior. II. xxi. p. 67, a. 39: οὐδὲν γὰρ τῶν αἰσθητῶν ἔξω τῆς αἰσθήσεως γενόμενον ἴσμεν, οὔδ’ ἂν ᾐσθημένοι τυγχάνωμεν, εἰ μὴ ὡς τῷ καθόλου καὶ τῷ ἔχειν τὴν οἰκείαν ἐπιστήμην, ἀλλ’οὐχ ὡς τῷ ἐνεργεῖν.
Complete cognition (τὸ ἐνεργεῖν, according to the view here set forth) consists of one mental act corresponding to the major premiss; another corresponding to the minor; and a third including both the two in conscious juxta-position. The third implies both the first and the second; but the first and the second do not necessarily imply the third, nor does either of them imply the other; though a person cognizant of the first isin a certain way, and to a certain extent, cognizant ofallthe particulars to which the second applies. Thus the person who knows Ontology (the most universal of all sciences, τοῦ ὄντος ᾗ ὄν), knowsin a certain wayallscibilia. Metaphys.A., p. 982, a. 21: τούτων δὲ τὸ μὲν πάντα ἐπίστασθαι τῷ μάλιστα ἔχοντι τὴν καθόλου ἐπιστήμην ἀναγκαῖον ὑπάρχειν· οὕτος γὰροἶδέ πωςπάντα τὰ ὑποκείμενα. Ib. a. 8: ὑπολαμβάνομεν δὴ πρῶτον μὲν ἐπίστασθαι πάντα τὸν σοφὸν ὡςἐνδέχεται, μὴ καθ’ ἕκαστον ἔχοντα ἐπιστήμην αὐτῶν. See the Scholia of Alexander on these passages, pp. 525, 526, Brandis; also Aristot. Analyt. Post. I. xxiv. p. 86, a. 25; Physica, VII. p. 247, a. 5. Bonitz observes justly (Comm.adMetaphys. p. 41) as to the doctrine of Aristotle: “Scientia et ars versatur in notionibus universalibus, solutis ac liberis à conceptu singularum rerum; ideoque,etsi orta est à principio et experientiâ, tradi tamen etiam iis potest qui careant experientiâ.â€�
43Analyt. Prior. II. xxi. p. 67, b. 3: τὸ γὰρ ἐπίστασθαι λέγεται τριχῶς, ἢ ὡς τῇ καθόλου, ἢ ὡς τῇ οἰκείᾳ, ἢ ὡς τῷ ἐνεργεῖν· ὥστε καὶ τὸ ἠπατῆσθαι τοσαυταχῶς.
43Analyt. Prior. II. xxi. p. 67, b. 3: τὸ γὰρ ἐπίστασθαι λέγεται τριχῶς, ἢ ὡς τῇ καθόλου, ἢ ὡς τῇ οἰκείᾳ, ἢ ὡς τῷ ἐνεργεῖν· ὥστε καὶ τὸ ἠπατῆσθαι τοσαυταχῶς.
44Ibid. b. 5: οὐδὲν οὖν κωλύει καὶ εἰδέναι καὶ ἠπατῆσθαι περὶ αὐτό, πλὴν οὐκ ἐναντίως. ὅπερ συμβαίνει καὶ τῷ καθ’ ἑκατέραν εἰδότι τὴν πρότασιν καὶ μὴ ἐπεσκεμμένῳ πρότερον. ὑπολαμβάνων γὰρ κύειν τὴν ἡμίονον οὐκ ἔχει τὴν κατὰ τὸ ἐνεργεῖν ἐπιστήμην, οὐδ’ αὖ διὰ τὴν ὑπόληψιν ἐναντίαν ἀπάτην τῇ ἐπιστήμῃ· συλλογισμὸς γὰρ ἡ ἐναντία ἀπάτη τῇ καθόλου. About erroneous belief, where a man believes the contrary of a true conclusion, adopting a counter-syllogism, compare Analyt. Post. I. xvi. p. 79, b. 23: ἄγνοια κατὰ διάθεσιν.
44Ibid. b. 5: οὐδὲν οὖν κωλύει καὶ εἰδέναι καὶ ἠπατῆσθαι περὶ αὐτό, πλὴν οὐκ ἐναντίως. ὅπερ συμβαίνει καὶ τῷ καθ’ ἑκατέραν εἰδότι τὴν πρότασιν καὶ μὴ ἐπεσκεμμένῳ πρότερον. ὑπολαμβάνων γὰρ κύειν τὴν ἡμίονον οὐκ ἔχει τὴν κατὰ τὸ ἐνεργεῖν ἐπιστήμην, οὐδ’ αὖ διὰ τὴν ὑπόληψιν ἐναντίαν ἀπάτην τῇ ἐπιστήμῃ· συλλογισμὸς γὰρ ἡ ἐναντία ἀπάτη τῇ καθόλου. About erroneous belief, where a man believes the contrary of a true conclusion, adopting a counter-syllogism, compare Analyt. Post. I. xvi. p. 79, b. 23: ἄγνοια κατὰ διάθεσιν.
It is impossible, however, for a man to believe that one contrary is predicable of its contrary, or that one contrary is identical with its contrary, essentially and as an universal proposition; though he may believe that it is so by accident (i.e.in some particular case, by reason of the peculiarities of thatcase). In various ways this last is possible; but this we reserve for fuller examination.45
45Analyt. Prior. II. xxi. p. 67, b. 23: ἀλλ’ ἴσως ἐκεῖνο ψεῦδος, τὸ ὑπολαβεῖν τινὰ κακῷ εἶναι τὸ ἀγαθῷ εἶναι, εἰ μὴ κατὰ συμβεβηκός· πολλαχῶς γὰρ ἐγχωρεῖ τοῦθ’ ὑπολαμβάνειν. ἐπισκεπτέον δὲ τοῦτο βέλτιον. This distinction is illustrated by what we read in Plato, Republic, v. pp. 478-479. The impossibility of believing that one contrary is identical with its contrary, is maintained by Sokrates in Plato, Theætetus, p. 190, B-D, as a part of the long discussion respecting ψευδὴς δόξα: either there is no such thing as ψευδὴς δόξα, or a man may know, and not know, the same thing, ibid. p. 196 C. Aristotle has here tried to show in what sense this last-mentioned case is possible.
45Analyt. Prior. II. xxi. p. 67, b. 23: ἀλλ’ ἴσως ἐκεῖνο ψεῦδος, τὸ ὑπολαβεῖν τινὰ κακῷ εἶναι τὸ ἀγαθῷ εἶναι, εἰ μὴ κατὰ συμβεβηκός· πολλαχῶς γὰρ ἐγχωρεῖ τοῦθ’ ὑπολαμβάνειν. ἐπισκεπτέον δὲ τοῦτο βέλτιον. This distinction is illustrated by what we read in Plato, Republic, v. pp. 478-479. The impossibility of believing that one contrary is identical with its contrary, is maintained by Sokrates in Plato, Theætetus, p. 190, B-D, as a part of the long discussion respecting ψευδὴς δόξα: either there is no such thing as ψευδὴς δόξα, or a man may know, and not know, the same thing, ibid. p. 196 C. Aristotle has here tried to show in what sense this last-mentioned case is possible.
Whenever (Aristotle next goes on to say) the extremes of a syllogism reciprocate or are co-extensive with each other (i.e.when the conclusion being affirmative is convertible simply), the middle term must reciprocate or be co-extensive with both.46If there be four terms (A, B, C, D), such that A reciprocates with B, and C with D, and if either A or C must necessarily be predicable of every subject; then it follows that either B or D must necessarily also be predicable of every subject. Again, if either A or B must necessarily be predicable of every subject, but never both predicable of the same at once; and if, either C or D must be predicable of every subject, but never both predicable of the same at once; then, if A and C reciprocate, B and D will also reciprocate.47When A is predicable of all B and all C, but of no other subject besides, and when B is predicable of all C, then A and B must reciprocate with each other, or be co-extensive with each other; that is, B may be predicated of every subject of which A can be predicated, though B cannot be predicated of A itself.48Again, when A and B are predicable of all C, and when C reciprocates with B, then A must also be predicable of all B.49
46Ibid. II. xxii. p. 67, b. 27, seq. In this chapter Aristotle introduces us to affirmative universal propositions convertiblesimpliciter; that is, in which the predicate must be understood to be distributed as well as the subject. Here, then, the quantity of the predicate is determined in thought. This is (as Julius Pacius remarks, p. 371) in order to lay down principles for the resolution of Induction into Syllogism, which is to be explained in the next chapter. In these peculiar propositions, the reason urged by Sir W. Hamilton for his favourite precept of verbally indicating the quantity of the predicate, is well founded as a fact: thoughhesays that inallpropositions the quantity of the predicate is understood in thought, which I hold to be incorrect.We may remark that this recognition by Aristotle of a class of universal affirmative propositions in which predicate and subject reciprocate, contrived in order to force Induction into the syllogistic framework, is at variance with his general view both of reciprocating propositions and of Induction. He tells us (Analyt. Post. I. iii. p. 73, a. 18) that such reciprocating propositions are very rare, which would not be true if they are taken to represent every Induction; and he forbids us emphatically to annex the mark of universality to the predicate; which he has no right to do, if he calls upon us to reason on the predicate as distributed (Analyt. Prior. I. xxvii., p. 43, b. 17; De Interpret. p. 17, b. 14).
46Ibid. II. xxii. p. 67, b. 27, seq. In this chapter Aristotle introduces us to affirmative universal propositions convertiblesimpliciter; that is, in which the predicate must be understood to be distributed as well as the subject. Here, then, the quantity of the predicate is determined in thought. This is (as Julius Pacius remarks, p. 371) in order to lay down principles for the resolution of Induction into Syllogism, which is to be explained in the next chapter. In these peculiar propositions, the reason urged by Sir W. Hamilton for his favourite precept of verbally indicating the quantity of the predicate, is well founded as a fact: thoughhesays that inallpropositions the quantity of the predicate is understood in thought, which I hold to be incorrect.
We may remark that this recognition by Aristotle of a class of universal affirmative propositions in which predicate and subject reciprocate, contrived in order to force Induction into the syllogistic framework, is at variance with his general view both of reciprocating propositions and of Induction. He tells us (Analyt. Post. I. iii. p. 73, a. 18) that such reciprocating propositions are very rare, which would not be true if they are taken to represent every Induction; and he forbids us emphatically to annex the mark of universality to the predicate; which he has no right to do, if he calls upon us to reason on the predicate as distributed (Analyt. Prior. I. xxvii., p. 43, b. 17; De Interpret. p. 17, b. 14).
47Ibid. II. xxii. p. 68, a. 2-15.
47Ibid. II. xxii. p. 68, a. 2-15.
48Ibid. a. 16-21. πλὴν αὐτοῦ τοῦ A. Waitz explains these words in his note (p. 531): yet I do not clearly make them out; and Alexander of Aphrodisias declared them to assert what was erroneous (ἐσφάλθαι λέγει, Schol. p. 194, a. 40, Brandis).
48Ibid. a. 16-21. πλὴν αὐτοῦ τοῦ A. Waitz explains these words in his note (p. 531): yet I do not clearly make them out; and Alexander of Aphrodisias declared them to assert what was erroneous (ἐσφάλθαι λέγει, Schol. p. 194, a. 40, Brandis).
49Ibid. II. xxii. p. 68, a. 21-25.
49Ibid. II. xxii. p. 68, a. 21-25.
Lastly, suppose two pairs of opposites, A and B, C and D; let A be more eligible than B, and D more eligible than C. Then, if A C is more eligible than B D, A will also be more eligible than D. For A is as much worthy of pursuit as B is worthy of avoidance, they being two opposites; the like also respecting C and D. If then A and D are equally worthy of pursuit, B and C are equally worthy of avoidance; for each is equal to each. Accordingly the two together, A C, will be equal to the two together, B D. But this would be contrary to the supposition; since we assumed A to be more eligible than B, and D to be more eligible than C. It will be seen that on this supposition A is more worthy of pursuit than D, and that C is less worthy of avoidance than B; the greater good and the lesser evil being more eligible than the lesser good and the greater evil. Now apply this to a particular case of a lover, so far forth as lover. Let A represent his possession of those qualities which inspire reciprocity of love towards him in the person beloved; B, the absence of those qualities; D, the attainment of actual sexual enjoyment; C, the non-attainment thereof. In this state of circumstances, it is evident that A is more eligible or worthy of preference than D. The being loved is a greater object of desire to the loverqualover than sexual gratification; it is the real end or purpose to which love aspires; and sexual gratification is either not at all the purpose, or at best only subordinate and accessory. The like is the case with our other appetites and pursuits.50
50Analyt. Prior. II. xxii. p. 68, a. 25-b. 17. Aristotle may be right in the conclusion which he here emphatically asserts; but I am surprised that he should consider it to be proved by the reasoning that precedes.It is probable that Aristotle here understood the object of ἔρως (as it is conceived through most part of the Symposion of Plato) to be a beautiful youth: (see Plato, Sympos. pp. 218-222; also Xenophon, Sympos. c. viii., Hiero, c. xi. 11, Memorab. I. ii. 29, 30). Yet this we must say — what the two women said when they informed Simætha of the faithlessness of Delphis (Theokrit. Id. ii. 149) —Κᾖπέ μοι ἄλλα τε πολλά, καὶ ὡς ἄρα Δέλφις ἔραται·Κᾔτε μιν αὖτε γυναικὸς ἔχει πόθος, εἴτε καὶ ἀνδρός,Οὐκ ἔφατ’ ἀτρεκὲς ἴδμεν.
50Analyt. Prior. II. xxii. p. 68, a. 25-b. 17. Aristotle may be right in the conclusion which he here emphatically asserts; but I am surprised that he should consider it to be proved by the reasoning that precedes.
It is probable that Aristotle here understood the object of ἔρως (as it is conceived through most part of the Symposion of Plato) to be a beautiful youth: (see Plato, Sympos. pp. 218-222; also Xenophon, Sympos. c. viii., Hiero, c. xi. 11, Memorab. I. ii. 29, 30). Yet this we must say — what the two women said when they informed Simætha of the faithlessness of Delphis (Theokrit. Id. ii. 149) —
Κᾖπέ μοι ἄλλα τε πολλά, καὶ ὡς ἄρα Δέλφις ἔραται·Κᾔτε μιν αὖτε γυναικὸς ἔχει πόθος, εἴτε καὶ ἀνδρός,Οὐκ ἔφατ’ ἀτρεκὲς ἴδμεν.
Such is the relation of the terms of a syllogism in regard to reciprocation and antithesis. Let it next be understood that the canons hitherto laid down belong not merely to demonstrative and dialectic syllogisms, but to rhetorical and other syllogisms also; all of which must be constructed in one or other of the three figures. In fact, every case of belief on evidence, whatever be the method followed, must be tested by these same canons. We believe everything either through Syllogism or upon Induction.51
51Ibid. II. xxiii. p. 68, b. 13: ἅπαντα γὰρ πιστεύομεν ἢ διὰ συλλογισμοῦ ἢ ἐξ ἐπαγωγῆς.
51Ibid. II. xxiii. p. 68, b. 13: ἅπαντα γὰρ πιστεύομεν ἢ διὰ συλλογισμοῦ ἢ ἐξ ἐπαγωγῆς.
Though Aristotle might seem, even here, to have emphatically contrasted Syllogism with Induction as a ground of belief, he proceeds forthwith to indicate a peculiar form of Syllogism which may be constructed out of Induction. Induction, and the Syllogism from or out of Induction (he says) is a process in which we invert the order of the terms. Instead of concluding from the major through the middle to the minor (i.e.concluding that the major is predicable of the minor), we now begin from the minor and conclude from thence through the middle to the major (i.e.we conclude that the major is predicable of the middle).52In Syllogism as hitherto described, we concluded that A the major was predicable of C the minor, through the middle B; in the Syllogism from Induction we begin by affirming that A the major is predicable of C the minor; next, we affirm that B the middle is also predicable of C the minor. The two premisses, standing thus, correspond to the Third figure of the Syllogism (as explained in the preceding pages) and would not therefore by themselves justify anything more than aparticularaffirmative conclusion. But we reinforce them by introducing an extraneous assumption:— That the minor C is co-extensive with the middle B, and comprises the entire aggregate of individuals of which B is the universal or class-term. By reason of this assumption the minor proposition becomes convertible simply, and we are enabled to infer (according to the last preceding chapter) an universal affirmative conclusion, that the major term A is predicable of the middle term B. Thus, let A (the major term) mean the class-term, long-lived; let B (the middle term) mean the class-term, bile-less, or the having no bile; let C (the minor term) mean the individual animals — man, horse, mule, &c., coming under the class-term B, bile-less.53We are supposed toknow, or to have ascertained, that A may be predicated of all C; (i.e.that all men, horses, mules, &c., are long-lived); we fartherknow that B is predicable of all C (i.e.that men, horses, mules, &c., belong to the class bile-less). Here, then, we have two premisses in the Third syllogistic figure, which in themselves would warrant us in drawing the particular affirmative conclusion, that A is predicable ofsomeB, but no more. Accordingly, Aristotle directs us to supplement these premisses54by the extraneousassumption or postulate, that C the minor comprises all the individual animals that are bile-less, or all those that correspond to the class-term B; in other words, the assumption, that B the middle does not denote any more individuals than those which are covered by C the minor — that B the middle does not stretch beyond or overpass C the minor.55Having the two premisses, and this postulate besides, we acquire the right to conclude that A is predicable ofallB. But we could not draw that conclusion from the premisses alone, or without the postulate which declares B and C to be co-extensive. The conclusion, then, becomes a particular exemplification of the general doctrine laid down in the last chapter, respecting the reciprocation of extremes and the consequences thereof. We thus see that this very peculiar Syllogism from Induction is (as indeed Aristotle himself remarks) the opposite or antithesis of a genuine Syllogism. It has no proper middle term; the conclusion in which it results isthe first or major proposition, the characteristic feature of which it is to beimmediate, or not to be demonstrated through a middle term. Aristotle adds that the genuine Syllogism, which demonstrates through a middle term, is by nature prior and more effective as to cognition; but that the Syllogism from Induction isto usplainer and clearer.56
52Analyt. Prior. II. xxiii. p. 68, b. 15: ἐπαγωγὴ μὲν οὖν ἐστὶ καὶ ὁ ἐξ ἐπαγωγῆς συλλογισμὸς τὸ διὰ τοῦ ἑτέρου θάτερον ἄκρον τῷ μέσῳ συλλογίσασθαι· οἷον εἰ τῶν ΑΓ μέσον τὸ Β, διὰ τοῦ Γ δεῖξαι τὸ Α τῷ Β ὑπάρχον· οὕτω γὰρ ποιούμεθα τὰς ἐπαγωγάς.Waitz in his note (p. 532) says: “Fit Inductio, cum per minorem terminum demonstraturmedium prædicari de majore.â€� This is an erroneous explanation. It should have been: “demonstraturmajorem prædicari de medio.â€� Analyt. Prior. II. xxiii. 68, b. 32: καὶ τρόπον τινὰ ἀντικεῖται ἡ ἐπαγωγὴ τῷ συλλογισμῷ· ὁ μὲν γὰρ διὰ τοῦ μέσου τὸ ἄκρον τῷ τρίτῳ δείκνυσιν, ἡ δὲ διὰ τοῦ τρίτου τὸ ἄκρον τῷ μέσῳ.
52Analyt. Prior. II. xxiii. p. 68, b. 15: ἐπαγωγὴ μὲν οὖν ἐστὶ καὶ ὁ ἐξ ἐπαγωγῆς συλλογισμὸς τὸ διὰ τοῦ ἑτέρου θάτερον ἄκρον τῷ μέσῳ συλλογίσασθαι· οἷον εἰ τῶν ΑΓ μέσον τὸ Β, διὰ τοῦ Γ δεῖξαι τὸ Α τῷ Β ὑπάρχον· οὕτω γὰρ ποιούμεθα τὰς ἐπαγωγάς.
Waitz in his note (p. 532) says: “Fit Inductio, cum per minorem terminum demonstraturmedium prædicari de majore.â€� This is an erroneous explanation. It should have been: “demonstraturmajorem prædicari de medio.â€� Analyt. Prior. II. xxiii. 68, b. 32: καὶ τρόπον τινὰ ἀντικεῖται ἡ ἐπαγωγὴ τῷ συλλογισμῷ· ὁ μὲν γὰρ διὰ τοῦ μέσου τὸ ἄκρον τῷ τρίτῳ δείκνυσιν, ἡ δὲ διὰ τοῦ τρίτου τὸ ἄκρον τῷ μέσῳ.
53Ibid. II. xxiii. p. 68, b. 18: οἷον ἔστω τὸ Α μακρόβιον, τὸ δ’ ἐφ’ ᾧ Β, τὸ χολὴν μὴ ἔχον, ἐφ’ ᾧ δὲ Γ, τὸ καθ’ ἕκαστονμακρόβιον, οἷον ἄνθρωπος καὶ ἵππος καὶ ἡμίονος. τῷ δὴ Γ ὅλῳ ὑπάρχει τὸ Α· πᾶν γὰρ τὸ ἄχολον μακρόβιον· ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ Β, τὸ μὴ ἔχειν χολήν, παντὶ ὑπάρχει τῷ Γ. εἰ οὖν ἀντιστρέφει τὸ Γ τῷ Β καὶ μὴ ὑπερτείνει τὸ μέσον, ἀνάγκη τὸ Α τῷ Β ὑπάρχειν.I have transcribed this Greek text as it stands in the editions of Buhle, Bekker, Waitz, and F. Didot. Yet, notwithstanding these high authorities, I venture to contend that it is not wholly correct; that the wordμακρόβιον, which I have emphasized, is neither consistent with the context, nor suitable for the point which Aristotle is illustrating. Instead ofμακρόβιον, we ought in that place to read ἄχολον; and I have given the sense of the passage in my English text as if it did stand ἄχολον in that place.I proceed to justify this change. If we turn back to the edition by Julius Pacius (1584, p. 377), we find the text given as follows after the word ἡμίονος (down to that word the text is the same): τῷ δὴ Γ ὅλῳ ὑπάρχει τὸ Α· πᾶν γὰρ τὸ Γ μακρόβιον· ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ Β, τὸ μὴ ἔχον χολήν, παντὶ ὑπάρχει τῷ Γ. εἰ οὖν ἀντιστρέφει τὸ Γ τῷ Β, καὶ μὴ ὑπερτείνει τὸ μέσον, ἀνάγκη τὸ Α τῷ Β ὑπάρχειν. Earlier than Pacius, the edition of Erasmus (Basil. 1550) has the same text in this chapter.Here it will be seen that in place of the words given in Waitz’s text, πᾶν γὰρ τὸἄχολονμακρόβιον, Pacius gives πᾶν γὰρτὸ Γμακρόβιον: annexing however to the letter Γ an asterisk referring to the margin, where we find the word ἄχολον inserted in small letters, seemingly as a various reading not approved by Pacius. And M. Barthélemy St. Hilaire has accommodated his French translation (p. 328) to the text of Pacius: “Donc A est à C tout entier, car tout C est longève.â€� Boethius in his Latin translation (p. 519) recognizes as his original πᾶν γὰρ τὸ ἄχολον μακρόβιον, but he alters the text in the words immediately preceding:— “Ergototi B(instead oftoti C) inest A, omne enim quod sine cholera est, longævum,â€� &c. (p. 519). The edition of Aldus (Venet. 1495) has the text conformable to the Latin of Boethius: τῷ δὴ Β ὅλῳ ὑπάρχει τὸ Α· πᾶν γὰρ τὸ ἄχολον μακρόβιον. Three distinct Latin translations of the 16th century are adapted to the same text, viz., that of Vives and Valentinus (Basil. 1542); that published by the Junta (Venet. 1552); and that of Cyriacus (Basil. 1563). Lastly, the two Greek editions of Sylburg (1587) and Casaubon (Lugduni 1590), have the same text also: τῷ δὴ Β ὅλῳ ὑπάρχει τὸ Α· πᾶν γὰρ [τὸ Γ] τὸ ἄχολον μακρόβιον. Casaubon prints in brackets the words [τὸ Γ] before τὸ ἄχολον.Now it appears to me that the text of Bekker and Waitz (though Waitz gives it without any comment or explanation) is erroneous; neither consisting with itself, nor conforming to the general view enunciated by Aristotle of the Syllogism from Induction. I have cited two distinct versions, each different from this text, as given by the earliest editors; in both the confusion appears to have been felt, and an attempt made to avoid it, though not successfully.Aristotle’s view of the Syllogism from Induction is very clearly explained by M. Barthélemy St. Hilaire in the instructive notes of his translation, pp. 326-328; also in his Preface, p. lvii.:— “L'induction n’est au fond qu’un syllogisme dont le mineur et le moyen sont d’extension égale. Du reste, il n’est qu’une seule manière dont le moyen et le mineur puissent être d’égale extension; c’est que le mineur se compose de toutes les parties dont le moyen représente la totalité. D’une part, tous les individus: de l’autre, l’espèce totale qu’ils forment. L’intelligence fait aussitôt équation entre les deux termes égaux.â€�According to the Aristotelian text, as given both by Pacius and the others, A, the major term, representslongævum(long-lived, the class-term or total); B, the middle term, representsvacans bile(bile-less, the class-term or total); C, the minor term, represents the aggregate individuals of the classlongævum, man, horse, mule, &c.Julius Pacius draws out the Inductive Syllogism, thus:—1. Omnis homo, equus, asinus, &c., est longævus.2. Omnis homo, equus, asinus, &c., vacat bile.Ergo:3. Quicquid vacat bile, est longævum.Convertible into a Syllogism in Barbara:—1. Omnis homo, equus, asinus, &c., est longævus.2. Quicquid vacat bile, est homo, equus, asinus, &c.Ergo:3. Quicquid vacat bile, est longævum.Here the force of the proof (or the possibility, in this exceptional case, of converting a syllogism in the Third figure into another inBarbaraof the First figure) depends upon the equation or co-extensiveness (not enunciated in the premisses, but assumed in addition to the premisses) of the minor term C with the middle term B. But I contend that this isnotthe condition peremptorily required, or sufficient for proof, if we suppose C the minor term to representomne longævum. We must understand C the minor term to representomne vacans bile, orquicquid vacat bile: and unless we understand this, the proof fails. In other words,homo, equus, asinus, &c.(the aggregate of individuals), must be co-extensive with the class-term bile-less orvacans bile: but they need not be co-extensive with the class-term long-lived orlongævum. In the final conclusion, the subjectvacans bileis distributed; but the predicatelongævumis not distributed; this latter may include, besides all bile-less animals, any number of other animals, without impeachment of the syllogistic proof.Such being the case, I think that there is a mistake in the text as given by all the editors, from Pacius down to Bekker and Waitz. What they give, in setting out the terms of the Aristotelian Syllogism from Induction, is: ἔστω τὸ Α μακρόβιον, τὸ δ’ ἐφ’ ᾧ Β, τὸ χολην μὴ ἔχον, ἐφ’ ᾧ δὲ Γ,τὸ καθ’ ἕκαστον μακρόβιον, οἷον ἄνθρωπος καὶ ἵππος καὶ ἡμίονος. Instead of which the text ought to run, ἐφ’ ᾧ δὲ Γ,τὸ καθ’ ἕκαστον ἄχολον, οἷον ἄνθρ. κ. ἵπ. κ. ἡμί. That these last words were the original text, is seen by the words immediately following: τῷ δὴ Γ ὅλῳ ὑπάρχει τὸ Α.πᾶν γὰρ τὸ ἄχολον μακρόβιον. For the reason thus assigned (in the particle γάρ) is irrelevant and unmeaning if Γ designates τὸ καθ’ ἕκαστονμακρόβιον, while it is pertinent and even indispensable if Γ designates τὸ καθ’ ἕκαστονἄχολον. Pacius (or those whose guidance he followed in his text) appears to have perceived the incongruity of the reason conveyed in the words πᾶν γὰρ τὸ ἄχολον μακρόβιον; for he gives, instead of these words, πᾶν γὰρτὸ Γμακρόβιον. In this version the reason is indeed no longer incongruous, but simply useless and unnecessary; for when we are told that A designates the classlongævum, and that Γ designates the individuallongæva, we surely require no reason from without to satisfy us that A is predicable of all Γ. The text, as translated by Boethius and others, escapes that particular incongruity, though in another way, but it introduces a version inadmissible on other grounds. Instead of τῷδὴ Γὅλῳ ὑπάρχει τὸ Α, πᾶν γὰρ τὸ ἄχολον μακρόβιον, Boethius has τῷδὴ Βὅλῳ ὑπάρχει τὸ Α, πᾶν γὰρ τὸ ἄχολον μακρόβιον. This cannot be accepted, because it enunciates the conclusion of the syllogism as if it were one of the premisses. We must remember that the conclusion of the Aristotelian Syllogism from Induction is, that A is predicable of B, one of the premisses to prove it being that A is predicable of the minor term C. But obviously we cannot admit as one of the premisses the proposition that A may be predicated of B, since this proposition would then be used as premiss to prove itself as conclusion.If we examine the Aristotelian Inductive Syllogism which is intended to conduct us to the finalprobandum, we shall see that the terms of it are incorrectly set out by Bekker and Waitz, when they give the minor term Γ as designating τὸ καθ’ ἕκαστον μακρόβιον. This last is not one of the three terms, nor has it any place in the syllogism. The three terms are:1. A — major — the class-term or class μακρόβιον —longævum.2. B — middle — the class term or class ἄχολον — bile-less.3. C — minor — the individual bile-less animals, man, horse, &c.There is no term in the syllogism corresponding to the individuallongævaor long-lived animals; this last (I repeat) has no place in the reasoning. We are noway concerned with the totality of long-lived animals; all that the syllogism undertakes to prove is, that in and among that totality all bile-less animals are included; whether there are or are not other long-lived animals besides the bile-less, the syllogism does not pretend to determine. The equation or co-extensiveness required (as described by M. Barthélemy St. Hilaire in his note) is not between the individual long-lived animals and the class, bile-less animals (middle term), but between the aggregate of individual animals known to be bile-less and the class, bile-less animals. The real minor term, therefore, is (not the individuallong-livedanimals, but) the individualbile-lessanimals. The two premisses of the Inductive Syllogism will stand thus:—Men, Horses, Mules, &c., are long-lived (major).Men, Horses, Mules, &c., are bile-less (minor).And, inasmuch as the subject of the minor proposition is co-extensive with the predicate (which, if quantified according to Hamilton’s phraseology, would be,Allbile-less animals), so that the proposition admits of being converted simply, — the middle term will become the subject of the conclusion, All bileless animals are long-lived.
53Ibid. II. xxiii. p. 68, b. 18: οἷον ἔστω τὸ Α μακρόβιον, τὸ δ’ ἐφ’ ᾧ Β, τὸ χολὴν μὴ ἔχον, ἐφ’ ᾧ δὲ Γ, τὸ καθ’ ἕκαστονμακρόβιον, οἷον ἄνθρωπος καὶ ἵππος καὶ ἡμίονος. τῷ δὴ Γ ὅλῳ ὑπάρχει τὸ Α· πᾶν γὰρ τὸ ἄχολον μακρόβιον· ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ Β, τὸ μὴ ἔχειν χολήν, παντὶ ὑπάρχει τῷ Γ. εἰ οὖν ἀντιστρέφει τὸ Γ τῷ Β καὶ μὴ ὑπερτείνει τὸ μέσον, ἀνάγκη τὸ Α τῷ Β ὑπάρχειν.
I have transcribed this Greek text as it stands in the editions of Buhle, Bekker, Waitz, and F. Didot. Yet, notwithstanding these high authorities, I venture to contend that it is not wholly correct; that the wordμακρόβιον, which I have emphasized, is neither consistent with the context, nor suitable for the point which Aristotle is illustrating. Instead ofμακρόβιον, we ought in that place to read ἄχολον; and I have given the sense of the passage in my English text as if it did stand ἄχολον in that place.
I proceed to justify this change. If we turn back to the edition by Julius Pacius (1584, p. 377), we find the text given as follows after the word ἡμίονος (down to that word the text is the same): τῷ δὴ Γ ὅλῳ ὑπάρχει τὸ Α· πᾶν γὰρ τὸ Γ μακρόβιον· ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ Β, τὸ μὴ ἔχον χολήν, παντὶ ὑπάρχει τῷ Γ. εἰ οὖν ἀντιστρέφει τὸ Γ τῷ Β, καὶ μὴ ὑπερτείνει τὸ μέσον, ἀνάγκη τὸ Α τῷ Β ὑπάρχειν. Earlier than Pacius, the edition of Erasmus (Basil. 1550) has the same text in this chapter.
Here it will be seen that in place of the words given in Waitz’s text, πᾶν γὰρ τὸἄχολονμακρόβιον, Pacius gives πᾶν γὰρτὸ Γμακρόβιον: annexing however to the letter Γ an asterisk referring to the margin, where we find the word ἄχολον inserted in small letters, seemingly as a various reading not approved by Pacius. And M. Barthélemy St. Hilaire has accommodated his French translation (p. 328) to the text of Pacius: “Donc A est à C tout entier, car tout C est longève.â€� Boethius in his Latin translation (p. 519) recognizes as his original πᾶν γὰρ τὸ ἄχολον μακρόβιον, but he alters the text in the words immediately preceding:— “Ergototi B(instead oftoti C) inest A, omne enim quod sine cholera est, longævum,â€� &c. (p. 519). The edition of Aldus (Venet. 1495) has the text conformable to the Latin of Boethius: τῷ δὴ Β ὅλῳ ὑπάρχει τὸ Α· πᾶν γὰρ τὸ ἄχολον μακρόβιον. Three distinct Latin translations of the 16th century are adapted to the same text, viz., that of Vives and Valentinus (Basil. 1542); that published by the Junta (Venet. 1552); and that of Cyriacus (Basil. 1563). Lastly, the two Greek editions of Sylburg (1587) and Casaubon (Lugduni 1590), have the same text also: τῷ δὴ Β ὅλῳ ὑπάρχει τὸ Α· πᾶν γὰρ [τὸ Γ] τὸ ἄχολον μακρόβιον. Casaubon prints in brackets the words [τὸ Γ] before τὸ ἄχολον.
Now it appears to me that the text of Bekker and Waitz (though Waitz gives it without any comment or explanation) is erroneous; neither consisting with itself, nor conforming to the general view enunciated by Aristotle of the Syllogism from Induction. I have cited two distinct versions, each different from this text, as given by the earliest editors; in both the confusion appears to have been felt, and an attempt made to avoid it, though not successfully.
Aristotle’s view of the Syllogism from Induction is very clearly explained by M. Barthélemy St. Hilaire in the instructive notes of his translation, pp. 326-328; also in his Preface, p. lvii.:— “L'induction n’est au fond qu’un syllogisme dont le mineur et le moyen sont d’extension égale. Du reste, il n’est qu’une seule manière dont le moyen et le mineur puissent être d’égale extension; c’est que le mineur se compose de toutes les parties dont le moyen représente la totalité. D’une part, tous les individus: de l’autre, l’espèce totale qu’ils forment. L’intelligence fait aussitôt équation entre les deux termes égaux.�
According to the Aristotelian text, as given both by Pacius and the others, A, the major term, representslongævum(long-lived, the class-term or total); B, the middle term, representsvacans bile(bile-less, the class-term or total); C, the minor term, represents the aggregate individuals of the classlongævum, man, horse, mule, &c.
Julius Pacius draws out the Inductive Syllogism, thus:—
1. Omnis homo, equus, asinus, &c., est longævus.2. Omnis homo, equus, asinus, &c., vacat bile.Ergo:3. Quicquid vacat bile, est longævum.
Convertible into a Syllogism in Barbara:—
1. Omnis homo, equus, asinus, &c., est longævus.2. Quicquid vacat bile, est homo, equus, asinus, &c.Ergo:3. Quicquid vacat bile, est longævum.
Here the force of the proof (or the possibility, in this exceptional case, of converting a syllogism in the Third figure into another inBarbaraof the First figure) depends upon the equation or co-extensiveness (not enunciated in the premisses, but assumed in addition to the premisses) of the minor term C with the middle term B. But I contend that this isnotthe condition peremptorily required, or sufficient for proof, if we suppose C the minor term to representomne longævum. We must understand C the minor term to representomne vacans bile, orquicquid vacat bile: and unless we understand this, the proof fails. In other words,homo, equus, asinus, &c.(the aggregate of individuals), must be co-extensive with the class-term bile-less orvacans bile: but they need not be co-extensive with the class-term long-lived orlongævum. In the final conclusion, the subjectvacans bileis distributed; but the predicatelongævumis not distributed; this latter may include, besides all bile-less animals, any number of other animals, without impeachment of the syllogistic proof.
Such being the case, I think that there is a mistake in the text as given by all the editors, from Pacius down to Bekker and Waitz. What they give, in setting out the terms of the Aristotelian Syllogism from Induction, is: ἔστω τὸ Α μακρόβιον, τὸ δ’ ἐφ’ ᾧ Β, τὸ χολην μὴ ἔχον, ἐφ’ ᾧ δὲ Γ,τὸ καθ’ ἕκαστον μακρόβιον, οἷον ἄνθρωπος καὶ ἵππος καὶ ἡμίονος. Instead of which the text ought to run, ἐφ’ ᾧ δὲ Γ,τὸ καθ’ ἕκαστον ἄχολον, οἷον ἄνθρ. κ. ἵπ. κ. ἡμί. That these last words were the original text, is seen by the words immediately following: τῷ δὴ Γ ὅλῳ ὑπάρχει τὸ Α.πᾶν γὰρ τὸ ἄχολον μακρόβιον. For the reason thus assigned (in the particle γάρ) is irrelevant and unmeaning if Γ designates τὸ καθ’ ἕκαστονμακρόβιον, while it is pertinent and even indispensable if Γ designates τὸ καθ’ ἕκαστονἄχολον. Pacius (or those whose guidance he followed in his text) appears to have perceived the incongruity of the reason conveyed in the words πᾶν γὰρ τὸ ἄχολον μακρόβιον; for he gives, instead of these words, πᾶν γὰρτὸ Γμακρόβιον. In this version the reason is indeed no longer incongruous, but simply useless and unnecessary; for when we are told that A designates the classlongævum, and that Γ designates the individuallongæva, we surely require no reason from without to satisfy us that A is predicable of all Γ. The text, as translated by Boethius and others, escapes that particular incongruity, though in another way, but it introduces a version inadmissible on other grounds. Instead of τῷδὴ Γὅλῳ ὑπάρχει τὸ Α, πᾶν γὰρ τὸ ἄχολον μακρόβιον, Boethius has τῷδὴ Βὅλῳ ὑπάρχει τὸ Α, πᾶν γὰρ τὸ ἄχολον μακρόβιον. This cannot be accepted, because it enunciates the conclusion of the syllogism as if it were one of the premisses. We must remember that the conclusion of the Aristotelian Syllogism from Induction is, that A is predicable of B, one of the premisses to prove it being that A is predicable of the minor term C. But obviously we cannot admit as one of the premisses the proposition that A may be predicated of B, since this proposition would then be used as premiss to prove itself as conclusion.
If we examine the Aristotelian Inductive Syllogism which is intended to conduct us to the finalprobandum, we shall see that the terms of it are incorrectly set out by Bekker and Waitz, when they give the minor term Γ as designating τὸ καθ’ ἕκαστον μακρόβιον. This last is not one of the three terms, nor has it any place in the syllogism. The three terms are:
1. A — major — the class-term or class μακρόβιον —longævum.2. B — middle — the class term or class ἄχολον — bile-less.3. C — minor — the individual bile-less animals, man, horse, &c.
There is no term in the syllogism corresponding to the individuallongævaor long-lived animals; this last (I repeat) has no place in the reasoning. We are noway concerned with the totality of long-lived animals; all that the syllogism undertakes to prove is, that in and among that totality all bile-less animals are included; whether there are or are not other long-lived animals besides the bile-less, the syllogism does not pretend to determine. The equation or co-extensiveness required (as described by M. Barthélemy St. Hilaire in his note) is not between the individual long-lived animals and the class, bile-less animals (middle term), but between the aggregate of individual animals known to be bile-less and the class, bile-less animals. The real minor term, therefore, is (not the individuallong-livedanimals, but) the individualbile-lessanimals. The two premisses of the Inductive Syllogism will stand thus:—
Men, Horses, Mules, &c., are long-lived (major).Men, Horses, Mules, &c., are bile-less (minor).
And, inasmuch as the subject of the minor proposition is co-extensive with the predicate (which, if quantified according to Hamilton’s phraseology, would be,Allbile-less animals), so that the proposition admits of being converted simply, — the middle term will become the subject of the conclusion, All bileless animals are long-lived.