85. First in Change: The Indivisible Moment of Completion

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The First Moment of Completed Change #

• When something has completed a change from A to B, it must be in B
• This completion occurs at an indivisible moment (like a point limiting a line)
• Example: When I have become a man, there is a first moment I have become a man, but this moment takes no time
• This is the ending point of change, not the beginning

Change According to Contradiction #

• The clearest case of all change: transition from not-being to being (or vice versa)
• Nothing exists between the terms (unlike change from white to black, where intermediate colors exist)
• When something has changed from not-being to being, it has left behind non-being and must be in being
• Everything necessarily either is or is not (fundamental axioms about being and non-being)

The Relationship Between ‘Leaving Behind’ and ‘Change’ #

• Change and leaving behind can mean the same reality viewed from different perspectives
• When something changes from A to B, it leaves behind A
• The word ‘change’ emphasizes the term to which; ’leaving behind’ emphasizes the term from which
• Relative pronouns (becoming, coming home) shift perspective without changing the underlying reality

The Meanings of ‘First’ #

• First in order of dignity/worth: What is most noble (wisdom as ‘first philosophy’)
• First in order of learning: What must be learned before other things (logic before metaphysics)
• First in order of knowledge: What is most known to us
• First in order of nature: What is most fundamental in being
• First is always defined by “before and after” relationships
• Descartes uses ‘first philosophy’ differently (first in order of learning), creating confusion with Aristotle’s meaning (first in dignity)

The Four Kinds of Opposition #

1. Contradiction: Being and non-being (most opposed; nothing in common)
2. Privation: Having and lacking (something in common: subject capable of having it)
3. Contrariety: Opposed qualities in same genus (more in common: subject and genus)
4. Relative: Things toward one another (no mutual exclusion; mutually dependent)

Relatives and Distinction #

• Relatives are distinguished by being “towards something” (πρός τι / pros-ti, not ‘relation’)
• Father and Son are distinct not by what is absolute in divinity, but by what is ’towards another’
• The Father is from the Father; distinction exists without temporal before/after
• This applies crucially to understanding the Trinity

Key Arguments #

The Argument That Change Must Be Completed in the Term #

1. When a change from A to B is completed, the thing has left behind A
2. If still in A, the change would not be completed
3. If in some intermediate state C, then still more change would be required to reach B
4. Therefore, the only possibility is that it is in B
5. This is clearest in contradictory change (being/not-being) where nothing exists between

The Divisibility of Motion Requires Divisible Bodies #

• A point cannot move through a doorway (it cannot be partly inside and partly outside)
• Only a divisible body can move continuously through space
• Therefore, motion’s divisibility depends on the divisibility of the thing moved
• This shows the thing moved is more fundamental than motion itself

Application to All Change #

• The argument from contradictory change extends to all other changes
• In all cases, when change is completed, the thing is in the term to which it changed
• This principle applies uniformly across all types of change

Important Definitions #

πρός τι (pros-ti) #

• Means “towards something” - more concrete than Latin “ad-aliquid” or English “relation”
• Indicates relative opposition without mutual exclusion
• Critical for understanding how Father and Son are distinct (distinguished by being towards one another)
• Appears in Gospel of St. John: ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν (the Word was toward God)

First (πρῶτος) #

• Defined fundamentally by “before and after” (πρό and μετά)
• The meanings of ‘first’ are as many as the meanings of ‘before and after’

Contradictory (ἀντίφασις / anti-phasis) #

• Greek: literally “against-speaking” (contra-diction)
• Opposed to something and its negation (e.g., white vs. not-white)
• Distinguished from contraries (white vs. black) where intermediates exist

Examples & Illustrations #

The Doorway Example #

• A body passing through a doorway must have part inside and part outside
• This is only possible if the body is divisible
• A point could not do this; it would have to be entirely in or entirely out
• Demonstrates that divisibility of the thing moved is necessary for divisible motion

The Journey Example (Worcester to Boston) #

• When I have gone from Worcester to Boston, I am in Boston
• Not in Worcester (haven’t begun), not in Framingham (would still need to go to Boston)
• If in Framingham, the journey would not be completed, contradicting the premise
• Clearest with contradictory change (being/not-being) where no intermediate exists

Baseball in the Infield #

• A baseball hit from the infield to the outfield has motion extending from batter to wall
• Part of motion is in the past, part is to come
• Only the ball itself provides unity throughout the motion
• Shows the thing moved is what holds together the divisible motion

The Butter Example #

• Butter going from soft to hard when placed in refrigerator
• Words ‘becoming hard’ and ‘change from soft to hard’ refer to same reality
• The perspective differs (emphasizing term to which vs. term from which)
• Shows relativity of language while reality remains constant

Lukewarm Water (Three Pails) #

• Hand in hot water then in lukewarm water: seems cold
• Hand in cold water then in lukewarm water: seems hot
• Same lukewarm water perceived differently based on prior context
• Illustrates how something appears relatively; compared to one standard it is cold, to another it is hot

Notable Quotes #

“The thing that’s being moved is really kind of the thing in motion that holds it all together… the only thing that seems to be there throughout the motion is the ball.”

“So in a way, you can start to see maybe that what he says there is true, that divisibility is found first in the thing that moves.”

“If you contrast change as becoming, change seems to have more of that from which, right? But if you compare change with leaving behind, then change seems to have more of the other.”

“I always cringe when I go into bookstores and you get the section… the occult and metaphysics and occult… I hate to admit I’m a teacher of metaphysics.”

“Where’s the Latin and English translations [of John’s Gospel], something is lost… because it says ’the Word was with God,’ but what’s the Greek for ‘with God’? Pros. It means toward.”

“That’s why it’s so significant… because the distinction is really based on what? That’s a relative thing. In the very Greek there of St. John’s Gospel… the Logos is pros ton theion.”

Questions Addressed #

Is there a first moment when change is completed? #

Yes, but this is an indivisible moment (like a point limiting a line). When I have become a man, there is a first moment I have become a man, but this moment takes no time. This is especially clear in contradictory change.

What is the term in which completed change occurs? #

When change from A to B is completed, the thing must be in B (the term to which it changed). It cannot be in A (left behind), and if in any intermediate state C, more change would still be required.

How does contradictory change illuminate all change? #

Because nothing exists between the terms (not-being and being), it is obvious that when change is completed, the thing must be in the term to which it changed. This clarity extends to all other types of change.

What do ‘change’ and ’leaving behind’ mean relative to each other? #

They refer to the same reality but from different perspectives. Both presuppose completed change; the distinction lies in emphasis (term to which vs. term from which), not in different realities.

Why is the thing moved more fundamental than motion itself? #

Because motion seems to be an accident to the thing in motion. The thing moved provides unity throughout a divisible motion. Without a divisible thing, there could not be divisible motion.

How do we distinguish ‘first philosophy’ in Aristotle vs. Descartes? #

Aristotle means first in dignity/worth (wisdom concerns what is immaterial and universal). Descartes means first in order of learning (what you must learn first). This confusion arises because we more readily fall back on earlier senses of words than later ones.