32. Being as Being and the Unity of Wisdom

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Nature of Reasoned-Out Knowledge (Episteme) of Being as Being #

• Aristotle establishes that there exists a reasoned-out knowledge that considers being as being and what belongs to it through itself (per se)
• This science of being differs fundamentally from particular sciences (geometry, arithmetic, natural philosophy, logic, political philosophy) which each study something more particular than being
• Each particular science considers its subject in a particular way: arithmetic considers numbers as numbers (not as beings), natural philosophy considers natural things as natural (not as beings), etc.
• Being is the most universal subject because nothing is more universal than being; everything that is in any way whatsoever can be said to be a being

The Three Paragraphs of Aristotle’s Argument #

1. First paragraph: There is a reasoned-out knowledge of being as being and what belongs to it as such or through itself (per se)
2. Second paragraph: This science is not the same as any of the particular sciences because it is about the universal (being) while all other sciences cut off some particular part
3. Third paragraph: This reasoned-out knowledge must be the same science that seeks the first causes and highest principles, because the science seeking the first cause must consider what is said of all things

The Problem of Equivocation: Can One Science Study Being? #

• Being is said in multiple ways (of substance, accidents, coming-to-be, privation), raising the question: can there be one unified science of something that does not have one meaning?
• Objection: If the word “healthy” is said equivocally of the body, diet, complexion, and exercise, and the word “political” is said equivocally of polis, government, law, and revolution, why should there be one science?
• Resolution requires distinguishing two types of equivocation:
  • Equivocal by chance (accidental): like “bat” meaning both a baseball bat and a flying mammal—no connection between meanings, so no unified science possible
  • Equivocal by reason: where there is an ordered connection among meanings, with a primary meaning to which other meanings refer back, allowing for unified scientific treatment

Equivocation by Reason: The Principle of Analogical Unity #

• When a term is equivocal by reason, there is a fundamental, primary meaning, and other meanings refer back to or depend upon it
• Example—Healthy: The body is the primary meaning (the body has health). Diet is healthy because it produces or preserves the health of the body. Complexion is healthy because it is a sign of the body’s good condition. Exercise is healthy because it preserves the body’s health. All these refer back to the health of the body as primary.
• Example—Political: The polis is the primary meaning of political. Government is political because it rules the polis. Law is political because government rules the polis through law. Revolution is political because it is a change of government (which rules the polis). All refer back to the polis as primary.
• Medical science can study all things called healthy because they are ordered toward the health of the body, the primary referent
• Political philosophy can study polis, government, law, and revolution as one science because they all refer back to the polis as their chief subject

Being as Equivocal by Reason #

• Being is said equivocally but not by chance
• Examples of equivocation in “being”:
  • When Hamlet says “to be or not to be,” he means to live (to exist with life), not to be a student or to be in Denmark (which would require qualification)
  • “If you leave this room you will cease to be” means to die (cease to exist with life), not “cease to be in the room,” which requires explicit qualification
  • “Did you come to be when you walked into this room?” requires qualification: you came to be in this room, but the word “come to be” more naturally refers to coming into existence
• These different senses of “to be” are connected: substance is the primary meaning, and accidents, coming-to-be, and privation all refer back to substance
• Therefore, one science (wisdom) can study being as being because being is equivocal by reason, not by chance

The Universality of Causes and Subjects: The Political Example #

• Principle: The more universal the cause, the more universal must be the subject of the science concerning that cause
• Example—King and General:
  • The king is a more universal cause than the general (the king’s causality extends to all citizens; the general’s causality extends to soldiers, a subset of citizens)
  • Since the king’s causality extends to all citizens, the science about the king must also study what a citizen is
  • Similarly, the science about the general must study what a soldier is
  • A citizen is more universal than a soldier (every soldier is a citizen, but not every citizen is a soldier)
• Application to Wisdom:
  • The first cause is the most universal cause of all things
  • Its causality extends to everything that is
  • Therefore, the science seeking the first cause must consider what is said of all things, namely being
  • This explains why wisdom is the science of being as being: the science of the most universal cause must be the science of the most universal subject
• This is not a confusion of “cause of all” with “said of all,” but rather shows that these two things belong to the same knowledge: because the first cause extends to all beings, the science studying that cause must study being as such

The Wise Man as Knowing All Things “In Some Way” #

• A wise man is described as a “know-it-all” in a qualified sense
• He cannot know all things in particular, but by knowing what belongs to being as being (what is said of all things), he knows all things in some way
• Example: By knowing what an odd number is, one knows in some way an infinity of things (all odd numbers)
• The wise man has a proportionate view of the whole of human life and “has it all together,” seeing the order and connection of all things

Key Arguments #

Why Wisdom Must Be the Science of Being as Being #

1. Wisdom seeks the first causes and highest principles of all things (the first cause)
2. The first cause’s causality extends to all beings without exception
3. A science about a universal cause must consider what is said of all things that fall under that cause (as shown by the political example)
4. What is said of all beings is being itself
5. Therefore, wisdom must be the science of being as being

Why One Science Can Study Equivocal Terms #

1. If a term is equivocal by chance, there cannot be one unified science of it
2. Being is equivocal, but not by chance—it is equivocal by reason
3. When equivocal by reason, there is a primary meaning and secondary meanings that refer back to it
4. Being is equivocal by reason: substance is the primary meaning; accident, coming-to-be, and privation refer back to substance
5. Therefore, one science (wisdom) can study being as being

Important Definitions #

Per Se / As Such (Through Itself) #

• What belongs to a thing by virtue of what the thing is, not accidentally
• In geometry: “having interior angles equal to two right angles” belongs to a triangle per se; “being green” does not belong to a triangle per se
• Geometry studies only what belongs to triangle through itself, not accidental properties

Equivocal by Reason (Analogous) #

• A word said of many things with different but connected meanings
• One meaning is primary; other meanings refer back to or depend upon it
• Examples: healthy, political, being itself

Episteme (ἐπιστήμη) #

• Reasoned-out knowledge or understanding
• Knowledge that grasps the universal and necessary, not merely particular instances
• Knowledge of causes and principles

Being as Such (τὸ ὂν ᾗ ὂν) #

• Being considered universally and in itself, not as restricted to any particular kind of being (like natural things or quantities)
• The subject matter of wisdom
• Opposed to studying being in a restricted way (e.g., as natural, as quantified, as political)

Examples & Illustrations #

The Political Philosophy Example #

• Polis (city-state): The primary meaning of “political”
• Government: Political because it rules the polis
• Law: Political because government rules the polis through law
• Revolution: Political (though further removed) because it is a change of government
• All these are studied in one science (political philosophy) because they refer back to the polis as their chief subject and fundamental referent

The Medical/Healthy Example #

• Body: Healthy (possesses the condition of health) — primary meaning
• Diet: Healthy (produces or preserves health)
• Complexion: Healthy (is a sign of the body’s good condition)
• Exercise: Healthy (preserves health)
• Medical science treats all of these as one subject matter because they all refer back to the health of the body

The Chair Example #

• If you smash up a chair, you no longer have a chair because a chair is composed of parts put together
• This illustrates that composed things depend on their parts being together; composition presupposes unity
• Relates to the principle that being as such belongs to one, even if composed

Equivocation in “To Be” #

• “To be or not to be” (Hamlet): Means to live (to exist with life)
• “You will cease to be if you leave”: Means to die, not merely to cease being in the room
• “Did you come to be when you entered the room?”: Without qualification, suggests coming into existence, not merely coming into the room
• These show that “to be” has primary (substantial existence) and secondary (accidental location) meanings

The Nose and Ear Example #

• Are my nose and my ear “the same thing”? No—they are two things.
• Are my nose and the shape of my nose “the same thing”? They are not two things like nose and ear.
• My nose and my ear differ as two separate substances; my nose and its shape differ as substance and accident
• Shows that “thing” is equivocal: sometimes meaning distinct substances, sometimes meaning the relationship of substance and accident

Questions Addressed #

Can There Be One Science of Being if Being Is Equivocal? #

Answer: Yes, because being is equivocal by reason, not by chance. Substance is the primary meaning of being; accidents, coming-to-be, and privation all refer back to substance. Therefore, one science (wisdom) can study being as being, just as one medical science can study all things called healthy by their reference to the health of the body, and one political science can study the polis, government, law, and revolution by their reference to the polis.

Why Must Wisdom Study Being as Being Rather Than Some Particular Kind of Being? #

Answer: Because wisdom seeks the first cause and highest principles of all things. The first cause’s causality extends to all beings without exception. By the principle illustrated in political philosophy (the science of a more universal cause must consider what is said of all things), the science seeking the first cause must study being as being, which is said of all things. No more universal subject exists.

How Does the Universality of a Cause Relate to the Universality of a Subject? #

Answer: The more universal the cause, the more universal must be the subject of the science. The king (more universal cause) requires study of citizens (more universal subject); the general (less universal cause) requires study of soldiers (less universal subject). The first cause of all things requires study of being itself (the most universal subject). This is not a confusion of “cause of all” with “said of all,” but rather shows they belong to the same knowledge because the universal cause extends to all beings in which the universal subject is present.

Notable Quotes #

“Nothing is more universal than being. Everything that is in any way whatsoever can be said to be a being.”

“Every other reasoned-out knowledge is about something more particular than being. Geometry is about continuous quantity. Arithmetic is about numbers. Natural philosophy is about natural things. But none of these considers being as being as a whole.”

“It’s just like Aristotle was reasoning: the science about the king should consider what a citizen is. The science about the general, what a soldier is. But the science about the first cause of all should talk about what is said of all things.”

“When you define, you define something by its genus and by its difference. But maybe being won’t have defined parts, because being has some kind of act and potency in it. It’s a composition.”

“If you don’t know which goods are better, you might be spending your life pursuing the lesser goods. Your life is based on a mistake.”

“In knowing being as being, I know in some way all things.”

“The word ’to be’ doesn’t seem to have just one meaning in the same way, does it?”