30. Post-Predicaments: Opposites and Distinction

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Post-Predicaments: Definition and Function #

• Things found in more than one category that cannot be placed in a single particular category
• Two primary functions:
  1. Show how to lead things back to the categories
  2. Provide basic principles for subdividing within categories
• Examples of post-predicamental realities: motion, opposites, before and after, together (hama), having
• Motion is found in four categories: substance (generation/corruption), quantity (growth/shrinkage), quality (alteration), and where (local motion)
• Post-predicaments have universal importance for the operation of reason itself

The Four Kinds of Opposites #

1. Relatives (πρός τι / pros ti) #

• Opposites that necessarily demand each other’s existence
• Examples: father/son, double/half
• If one exists, the other must exist
• Closest to the category of relation
• Most subtle form of opposition

2. Contraries #

• Opposites that are species of the same genus
• Share a common subject and common genus
• Examples: virtue and vice (both habits in the will), health and sickness, black and white
• Can have a middle ground between them
• Further removed from relation than relatives

3. Having and Lacking (ἔχειν καὶ στέρησις / echein kai steresis / privation) #

• The absence of something in a subject naturally able to have it
• Lack (στέρησις / steresis) is a kind of non-being, not merely the absence of a contrary
• Example: blindness is not just the lack of sight but the privation of sight in something that should have sight by nature
• Further removed from relation than contraries
• Distinguished from contradictory negation

4. Contradictories (ἀντιφάσις / antiphasis) #

• Opposites with no middle ground
• One must necessarily be true
• Examples: seeing/not-seeing, being/non-being
• Most fundamental opposition
• Foundation for the principle of non-contradiction

Aristotle’s Ordering of Opposites #

• Relatives → Contraries → Having/Lacking → Contradictories
• This order reflects proximity to the category of relation
• Order is based on categorical proximity, not logical priority
• Aristotle begins with relation because it is one of the ten categories
• Alternative ordering possible based on logical priority (contradictories would be first)

Distinction of Distinctions #

• Formal Distinction (distinctio formalis): by opposites; creates real difference in nature without dividing substance
  • Example: virtue and vice are formally distinct
  • Example: the divine persons (Father/Son/Holy Spirit) are formally distinct by relations
• Material Distinction: by division of the continuous (continuity)
  • Arises from divisibility of quantity
  • Example: numbers arise from bisecting a line; ones in number
  • Creates numerical multiplicity

Why Divine Persons Are Distinguished by Relatives, Not Other Opposites #

• Cannot use contradictories: both Father and Son are God (not non-God)
• Cannot use contraries: both are perfect, not lacking
• Cannot use having and lacking: both possess all perfections
• Only relatives work: Father and Son necessarily correlate without dividing the one substance of God
• Theological principle: “In God all things are one except where there is opposition of relation”

Reason’s Operation Through Distinction #

• Reason fundamentally operates through distinction
• Shakespeare defines reason as the ability for “large discourse, looking before and after”
• Before and after: found in all categories; basis for understanding order and sequence
• Together (hama): things on the same level of division; species are together within a genus
• Opposites are essential for making distinctions
• Reason can reflect upon itself and distinguish the kinds of distinctions

Equivocal Words and Understanding #

• Words equivocal by reason (ἀναφορὰ πρὸς ἓν / analogical terms) allow understanding of realities beyond sensory experience
• Example: “to be in” has multiple senses (in place, in time, in a genus, in matter)
• Understanding equivocal terms requires “large discourse”—reasoning about universals
• Must see both the connection between senses and the distinction between them
• Without equivocal words, could not speak of God, angels, or even the soul
• Modern philosophers who deny equivocity create artificial restrictions on language

Key Arguments #

Why Categories Cannot Exhaust All Being-Concepts #

• Motion is clearly real and knowable but cannot be placed in a single category
• It is found in substance, quantity, quality, and where simultaneously
• Yet it is not a motion of motion (not in the category of motion itself)
• Therefore, some concepts must be understood as transcending categorical placement

The Principle of Non-Contradiction as Foundation #

• “It is impossible to be and not to be at the same time in the same way”
• This is “by nature the beginning of all axioms”
• All other opposites presuppose this fundamental principle
• Contradictories are most fundamental because one must necessarily be true

Why Relatives Alone Can Distinguish Divine Persons #

• The Trinity presents a unique metaphysical problem: three distinct persons, one substance
• Relatives are the only form of opposition that:
  • Demands the other (Father requires Son)
  • Does not divide the substance (does not make God partially this or that)
  • Maintains perfect unity while establishing real distinction
• This demonstrates why Aristotle’s analysis of opposites is essential for theology

The Universality of Opposites in Subdivision #

• Every genus is divided into species by means of opposites
• Quantity divides into discrete and continuous (contradictory opposition)
• Quality divides into virtue and vice (contrary opposition)
• Substance divides into material and immaterial substances (contrary opposition)
• Therefore, understanding opposites is understanding the fundamental structure of being

Important Definitions #

Post-Predicament #

“Things that are found in more than one category but cannot be placed in just one particular place.” They show how various realities transcend single categorical placement and provide principles for subdividing within categories.

Privation (στέρησις / steresis) #

“The non-being of something in a subject that is naturally able to have it and should have it.” Distinct from mere contradictory negation: blindness is not just absence of sight but the lack of sight in something that by nature should have sight (e.g., an eye).

Relatives (πρός τι / pros ti) #

“Opposites that necessarily demand the existence of their correlative without dividing into different genera.” Unlike contraries, relatives cannot exist independently: father requires son, double requires half.

Formal Distinction (distinctio formalis) #

“Distinction by opposites that creates real difference in nature without dividing a single substance.” Used to explain how divine persons are really distinct while God remains absolutely simple.

Equivocal by Reason (ἀναφορὰ πρὸς ἓν / analogia) #

“Words that have multiple senses ordered to a primary sense, requiring ’large discourse’ to understand their connection and distinction.” Examples: “to be in” (place, time, genus, matter), “being” (substance, quantity, quality, relation, etc.).

Examples & Illustrations #

Motion’s Occurrence Across Categories #

• Substance: Generation (coming to be) and corruption (ceasing to be)
• Quantity: Growth and shrinking (increase and decrease in size)
• Quality: Alteration (becoming hot, becoming colored, changing from vice to virtue)
• Where: Local motion (moving from place to place through space)
• Yet motion is a single reality (“the first meaning of act”)

Opposites in Division of Categories #

• Odd and even: contradictory opposition in numbers (every number must be one or the other)
• Black and white: contrary opposition with middle ground (colors in between exist)
• Health and sickness: contraries where one must belong to the body
• Virtue and vice: contraries in the genus of quality (habits)

Understanding “To Be In” (Equivocal Term) #

• Primary sense: to be in a place (I am in this room)
• Second sense: part in whole (my teeth are in my mouth like a part of me)
• Distinction: my teeth are attached as part of the mouth; I am not attached to or part of the room
• Understanding requires seeing both connection (both involve containment) and distinction (different types of containment)

Time as Destructive Power #

• Shakespeare: “Time is a tyrant” or “Time is our master”
• Aristotle: Is time more the cause of things getting better or getting worse?
• Answer: Things left to themselves decay (house gets shabby, car rusts)
• Contrary to evolutionary optimism: time naturally leads to corruption unless things are maintained
• Therefore time “has us in its power” not for our good

Mozart’s 23rd Piano Concerto as Formal Structure #

• First movement (A major): underlying sadness hidden beneath the surface
• Second movement (minor key): tragic emotion explicitly revealed
• Third movement (C major): resolution into unalloyed joy
• Structure: beginning, middle, and end forming a unified plot
• Demonstrates how music has structure analogous to drama (beginning, middle, end)

Questions Addressed #

Why are post-predicaments necessary if categories are exhaustive? #

• Categories classify all beings, but some realities (motion, opposites) cannot be confined to single categories
• Post-predicaments show that certain concepts transcend categorical placement
• They provide universal principles for understanding how categories relate and subdivide
• Essential for understanding concepts that apply across multiple categories

How can divine persons be distinguished if God is absolutely simple? #

• Not by contradictories: Both Father and Son are God, not non-God
• Not by contraries: Both are perfect and possess all divine attributes equally
• Not by having/lacking: Both possess everything God possesses
• Only by relatives: The relations of paternity and filiation necessarily demand each other while dividing neither the essence nor the perfections
• This demonstrates why Aristotle’s analysis of opposites is theologically indispensable

What is the relationship between opposites and reason? #

• Reason operates fundamentally through distinction
• Shakespeare: reason is ability for “large discourse, looking before and after”
• Before and after (temporal ordering) are found in all categories
• Together (hama) - spatial/categorical ordering of species within a genus
• Opposites provide the primary means by which reason makes distinctions
• The mind can reflect upon itself: reason knows reason, reason can define reason

Why does Aristotle order opposites as relatives → contraries → privation → contradictories? #

• This order reflects proximity to the category of relation
• Relatives are one of the ten categories
• Each subsequent opposition is further removed from the relational character
• Yet logically, contradictories are most fundamental (foundation of non-contradiction)
• Two valid orderings exist depending on whether one prioritizes categorical or logical order

Can modern philosophy do without equivocal terms? #

• Modern philosophers attempt to use only univocal language
• This creates artificial restrictions: if only univocal senses allowed, could not speak of God, angels, or soul
• Gabriel Marcel’s response: living in only present sensations without universality (“consensus absence”)
• Natural language necessarily extends univocal terms across multiple senses
• Shakespeare is “wiser than any modern philosopher” in preserving this natural operation of language

How does reason come to understand equivocal terms? #

• Through large discourse: extended reasoning about universal applications
• Must see the connection between senses (what they have in common)
• Must see the distinction between senses (how they differ)
• Particularly difficult for very universal terms (“in,” “being,” “cause”)
• Example: Aristotle distinguishes eight senses of “to be in” then orders them by seeing first and second senses

Is time the cause of corruption or perfection? #

• Aristotle raises: Is time more the cause of things getting better or getting worse?
• Answer: Without maintenance, things naturally decay with time
• Application to nature: evolutionists deny nature acts for an end, yet things do deteriorate
• Shakespeare recognized this: time enslaves us, is not for our good
• Contrary to modern optimism about progress

Notable Quotes #

“It is impossible to be and not to be at the same time in the same way.” — Aristotle (cited as “by nature the beginning of all axioms”)

“To be or not to be, that is the question.” — Shakespeare (Berquist uses this to illustrate the principle of non-contradiction and the impossibility of being both)

“Time is a tyrant” / “Time is our master.” — Shakespeare (cited to show time’s destructive power and dominion over creatures)

“Reason is the ability for large discourse, looking before and after.” — Shakespeare (Berquist’s definition of reason as fundamentally involving distinction and temporal ordering)

“In God all things are one except where there is opposition of relation.” — Theological axiom (cited regarding how divine persons are distinguished)

“The mind impressed with the existing being.” — St. Boethius (cited regarding how even when we speak of “nothing,” we use the word “is” and think in terms of being)

“We cannot even think of nothing except in terms of being.” — Berquist’s articulation of why all thought presupposes being

“Shakespeare is wiser than any modern philosopher.” — Berquist’s critical assessment of contemporary thought versus poetic wisdom