8. Shakespeare's Definition of Reason: Discourse and Capability

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Shakespeare’s Exhortation: Structure and Form #

• The exhortation from Hamlet is written in blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter)
• Seven lines containing the equivalent of six lines of iambic pentameter
• Contains exactly 49 words (7 × 7), possibly symbolizing wisdom
• Uses proportional reasoning similar to mathematical argument

The Proportional Argument #

• Shakespeare reasons: If man’s chief good is merely sleep and feed (like a beast), then man is no more than a beast
• However, man is clearly more than a beast; even those living like beasts protest being treated as animals
• Therefore, man’s chief good must be more than sleep and feed
• The natures of things operate like numbers: add or subtract a difference, and you have a different kind of thing

The Definition of Reason #

Shakespeare defines reason as: “the ability for large discourse, looking before and after”

Genus: Ability (Capability) #

• Reason is fundamentally an ability, not an act
• Abilities are known only through their acts and distinguished by what they are abilities for
• An ability is defined by its utmost capacity, not by minimal exercise
• Example: A man’s weightlifting ability is defined by the maximum he can lift (300 lbs), not the minimum (100 lbs)
• Students at employment agencies are matched to jobs based on their abilities: the pianist by ability to play piano, not by general “ability”

First Differentia: Discourse #

• Discourse (from Latin discurrere, “to run together”) means:
  • The ability to go from one thing to another
  • More fundamentally: the ability to come to know something unknown through things already known
• Distinguishes reason from sensation and imagination, which merely move from one thing to another without knowing one through another
• Characteristic acts of discourse:
  • Reasoning: knowing a conclusion through premises
  • Defining: knowing what something is through its components (e.g., knowing “blank verse” through “unrhymed,” “iambic,” “pentameter”)
  • Calculating: knowing a number through other numbers (e.g., total cost through individual prices)
  • Counting: knowing a number through the one
• Why discourse rather than natural understanding? Because:
  • Things reason naturally understands without discourse are general and imprecise
  • Through discourse, reason comes to know things more particularly and precisely
  • The act most characteristic of reason—reasoning itself—is a form of discourse

Second Differentia: Large #

• Large indicates the scope and power of reason’s discourse, having multiple senses:
  • Discourse about the universal (what is common to many things), not merely particular
  • Discourse about great things (not trivial matters)
  • Discourse with large inductive scope (from many singulars to one universal)
  • Discourse with large deductive scope (from one principle to many consequences)
  • Discourse with many steps (going through intermediate steps, as in Euclid’s proofs)
  • Discourse over long distance (between things far apart)
• Shakespeare emphasizes reason’s capacity for universals and great matters as the defining characteristic

Third Differentia: Looking Before and After #

• Looking means “trying to see” or “attempting to understand”
• Before and after relates to understanding order and relationships between things
• This phrase will require fuller analysis beyond the current lecture segment

Key Arguments #

Why Discourse is the Fundamental Act of Reason #

1. Other powers (sensation, imagination) can move from one thing to another
2. Only reason can know one thing through knowing other things
3. This is demonstrated most clearly in reasoning (the act that gives its name to reason)
4. Therefore, discourse—not mere sensation or imagination—distinguishes reason from lower powers

Why “Ability” Before All Else #

1. An ability cannot be understood independently—only through what it is an ability for
2. One does not see an ability directly; one sees it through the acts it enables
3. Therefore, reason cannot be defined without reference to its characteristic acts
4. This is why Shakespeare begins with “capability” (ability) as the genus

Important Definitions #

Reason #

The ability to come to know something unknown through things already known; characterized by the capacity to move through discourse from known to unknown, particularly through universal principles.

Discourse (Discursus) #

The act of moving in thought from one thing to another, specifically the act of coming to know one thing through knowing other things, distinguishing reason from sensation and imagination.

Ability (Capability) #

A fundamental potency or capacity that is known only through its characteristic acts and defined by the utmost exercise of which it is capable, not by minimal or partial exercise.

Large (in context of reason) #

Capable of dealing with universals and great matters, not limited to particulars or trivial concerns; discourse that extends through many steps or spans distant connections.

Examples & Illustrations #

Discourse Examples #

• Defining blank verse: Knowing what blank verse is through understanding “unrhymed,” “iambic,” and “pentameter”
• Calculating at the checkout: Knowing the total cost by adding individual item prices
• Defining a perfect number: A number equal to the sum of all its divisors (explained as coming to know this through knowing what a number is, what it means to be measured by something, and what equality means)
• Euclid’s geometry: Using previously proven theorems to prove new ones

Large Discourse Examples #

• Universal discourse: A statement about odd numbers applies to infinitely many instances
• Great matters: Reason can discourse about the nature of man, his chief good, his immortality
• Discourse with many steps: Complex geometric proofs requiring passage through many intermediate propositions
• Discourse over distance: Connecting things very distant from each other (e.g., motion and God in metaphysical argument)

Illustrations of Ability #

• Literary: “Wisely and slow, they stumble that run fast” (from Romeo and Juliet, advice to move carefully in matters of action)
• Common life: A person discovers an unexpected athletic ability when called upon to use it—“I didn’t know I had it in me”

Notable Quotes #

“What is a man if his chief good and market of his time, be but to sleep and feed? A beast, no more.” — Shakespeare, Hamlet

“The beginning is half of all.” — Greek proverb, cited as foundational principle

“Wisely and slow, they stumble that run fast.” — Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, illustrating the application of discourse to action

Questions Addressed #

Why does Shakespeare use “discourse” rather than “understanding” or “natural knowledge”? #

• Because other powers (sensation, imagination) can also move from one thing to another
• Discourse specifically means knowing one thing through knowing other things, which distinguishes reason
• This is especially evident in reasoning, the act most characteristic of reason that gives its name to reason
• Natural understanding is general and imprecise; discourse allows particular and precise knowledge

Why define reason by “ability” at all? #

• Because an ability cannot be understood except through what it is an ability for
• One never sees an ability directly—only the acts it enables
• This is why Shakespeare begins with “capability” as the genus, not with the acts themselves

How does one know one has an ability? #

• Only through performing the act for which it is an ability
• An athlete who discovers unexpected strength was already capable; the ability was merely undiscovered
• One comes to know an ability through exercising it

How are abilities distinguished from one another? #

• By their different acts and what those acts accomplish
• The ability to see and the ability to hear are distinct because seeing is not a form of hearing, and vice versa
• A blind man who can walk proves that the ability to walk and the ability to see are separate

Why is reason defined by its utmost capacity rather than minimal exercise? #

• Because defining the capacity by minimal exercise would not reveal the full nature of the ability
• A man who can lift 300 pounds can also lift 100 pounds, but his ability is properly defined by 300 pounds
• Similarly, reason’s ability must be defined by its greatest reach, not by lesser exercises

Connections to Broader Curriculum #

To Natural Philosophy and Metaphysics #

• The principle that natures of things operate like numbers (add or subtract a difference, get a different kind of thing) relates to metaphysical essentialism
• The proportion used in Shakespeare’s argument (A is to B as X is to Y) connects to mathematical reasoning in natural philosophy

To Logic and Definition #

• The structure of the definition (genus + differentiae) is the standard form of logical definition
• The lecture demonstrates how defining reason itself requires using reason—a self-validating definition

To Ethics #

• The opening proportion (man’s chief good vs. beast’s chief good) connects ethics to metaphysics
• Understanding reason’s nature is prerequisite to understanding man’s ultimate good

To Previous Lectures #

• Builds on the discussion of natural beginnings and why philosophy should begin from common experience
• The lecture illustrates the principle that we move from confused knowledge (what is more known to us) to distinct knowledge (what is more fully known)