40. Accidental Being and the Limits of Wisdom

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Four Senses of Being #

Aristotle divides being (τὸ ὄν) into four main senses:

1. Being by accident (κατὰ συμβεβηκός) - when two things happen to coincide in the same subject
2. Being as true (ἀληθές) - when being is understood as truth; non-being as falsity (found primarily in the mind)
3. Being according to the figures of predication - substance, quantity, quality, relation, etc.
4. Being as act and potency (ἐνέργεια/δύναμις) - the primary object of wisdom

Wisdom (φρόνησις/σοφία) will not make accidental being or being-as-true its chief concern, but will focus on being according to the figures of predication and being as act/potency (treated in Books 7-9).

Accidental Being Defined #

Accidental being occurs when two things happen to the same subject without forming a unified nature. Examples:

• Most accidental: A person being both white and a magician (two entirely distinct properties coinciding)
• Less accidental: A person being white and human (white happens to a human nature)
• Reverse formulation: “A human white thing” or “a human magician”

The key point: there is no unified essence called “Christian geometer” or “white magician,” though such combinations occur in reality.

The Distinction from Substance and Its Accidents #

Important clarification: Thomas Aquinas notes that when Aristotle speaks of “accident” here, he does not mean accident as distinguished from substance in the ten categories. Rather, the ten categories (substance, quantity, quality, relation, etc.) are all divisions of being per se (κατὰ αὑτό). When we call quantity and quality “accidents,” we mean they are not substance, but this is different from accidental being (being by happening).

Key Arguments #

First Reason: No Science Addresses the Accidental #

The Principle: Reasoned-out knowledge (ἐπιστήμη) only concerns what belongs to things as such (κατὰ αὑτό) or through themselves (διὰ αὑτά).

Why Science Ignores Accidents:

• The geometer discusses properties that belong to triangles through being a triangle: having three sides, being a plane figure, having interior angles equal to two right angles
• The geometer does not discuss what happens to triangles: being green, being drawn on this particular page, etc.
• These accidental properties do not follow from the nature of triangle; they happen to occur but could be otherwise
• No art or craft addresses accidental being because it is endless and unpredictable

Example from Architecture: A house-builder does not account for what happens to people in the house (robbery, injury, happiness, sadness). The art of house-building concerns the house itself, not the accidents that befall it.

Second Reason: Accidental Being Hardly Is #

The Claim: Accidental being has minimal ontological reality compared to essential being.

Signs of This Weakness:

1. There is no generation or corruption of accidental being in the strict sense

   • One cannot become a Christian geometer the way one becomes Christian or a geometer
   • There is no principle or cause (ὑποκείμενον) by which one is a Christian geometer
   • When something ceases to be white, the human nature persists; the accidental combination simply dissolves

2. Accidental being is “as it were, only a name” (Aristotle’s phrase)

   • The existence of Christian geometers depends entirely on the prior existence of Christians and geometers
   • It has no independent principle of being

Aristotle’s Reference to Plato: Plato divided reality into being (knowledge), becoming (opinion), and non-being (sophistry/error). Aristotle observes that the sophist, concerned with accidental being, deals with what is “in a way nothing.” Hence Plato’s placement of sophistry near non-being was not entirely wrong.

Important Definitions #

Key Terms #

Being by Accident (κατὰ συμβεβηκός): Being that results from the coincidence of two things in the same subject without forming a unified nature. Example: being white and being a musician both happen to the same person, but there is no nature called “white musician.”

Being as Such (κατὰ αὑτό / ὡς καθ᾽ αὑτό): What belongs to a thing through its nature, definition, or essence. This is the proper object of science and wisdom. Contrasts with accidental being.

For the Most Part (ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολύ): What happens usually or in the majority of cases. The domain where science and art can operate. Contrasts with what is always (necessary) and what is rare (accidental).

Reasoned-out Knowledge (ἐπιστήμη): Knowledge that grasps things through their causes and principles. Can only address what is always or for the most part, never the rare or accidental.

Examples & Illustrations #

Literary Examples from Shakespeare #

Othello

• The tragedy involves Othello’s dark skin color, which is accidental to his nature as a person
• Shakespeare uses this accidental property as a vehicle for exploring deeper themes

Romeo and Juliet

• The central tragedy stems from the accidental fact that Romeo is the son of Juliet’s father’s enemy
• Juliet’s famous line “Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” expresses frustration with this mere accident
• The tragedy arises not from Romeo’s or Juliet’s nature, but from external circumstance
• The Reconciliation: In the final scene, the feuding fathers are reconciled, and the Prince says “Heaven is found means to punish you.” This suggests divine providence working through accidental events: the families have been feuding for generations and are punished by the love (and death) of their own children. There is a deeper purpose hidden in what appears to be mere accident.

Classical Literary Example #

Oedipus Rex (Sophocles)

• Oedipus flees his supposed parents to avoid the oracle’s prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother
• On the road, he accidentally meets his real father and kills him in a quarrel (not knowing who he is)
• He then unknowingly marries his real mother
• The tragedy is rooted in unfortunate coincidence and accidental circumstances, not in Oedipus’s nature
• The poet finds value in showing how terrible consequences flow from what appears to be mere accident

Modern Practical Examples #

The Christian Geometer

• A person happens to be both Christian and a geometer
• Christianity is acquired through conversion; geometry through learning
• But there is no unified nature or art called “Christian geometry”
• Yet affirmative action committees might seek to hire a “Christian geometer”
• This exemplifies how accidental being, though philosophically marginal, influences practical decisions

Senator Styles Bridges (1936)

• Bridges was being considered as vice-presidential candidate
• The Republican presidential nominee was Alf Landon
• The Democrats combined their names: “Landon, Bridges, falling down”—a reference to the nursery rhyme
• Bridges was denied the nomination because of this accidental coincidence of names
• This trivial accident of nomenclature significantly altered his political career and life
• Illustrates how accidental being, though not the concern of the philosopher, profoundly influences human history

The Plague and Romeo’s Messenger

• Friar Lawrence gives Juliet medicine to fake her death and avoid marriage to Paris
• He sends a fellow Franciscan to inform Romeo
• The messenger encounters a plague-stricken town, gets quarantined, and cannot deliver the message
• Romeo, believing Juliet truly dead, obtains poison and kills himself
• All the subsequent tragedy flows from this accidental delay
• The poet uses such coincidences to hint at deeper meaning or divine providence

The Statue Example (From Poetics) #

• A man murders someone and goes undiscovered
• A statue is erected in his honor in the marketplace
• During a festival with crowds, the statue falls and kills the murderer
• This appears to be pure chance, yet suggests justice or divine providence
• The poet likes to show that what seems accidental may conceal deeper purpose

Questions Addressed #

Why doesn’t wisdom make accidental being its main concern? #

Answer: For two fundamental reasons:

1. No science addresses the accidental: Science and reasoned-out knowledge concern only what belongs to things as such or through themselves, and what is always or for the most part. The accidental is rare and unpredictable, so no universal principles can be taught about it.
2. Accidental being hardly is: It has minimal ontological reality. There is no generation or corruption of it in the strict sense, no principle by which something is accidentally, and it depends entirely on the prior existence of essentially real beings.

Can accidental being be taught or learned? #

Answer: No. One cannot formulate universal rules or principles about what happens rarely and unpredictably. The accidental is “endless” in its possibilities—you cannot enumerate all the things that might happen if a person enters a bookstore or travels to a town.

Is accidental being completely unreal? #

Answer: No. Accidental being has some reality (otherwise we could not speak truly about it), but it “hardly is” in comparison to essential being. While not the concern of the philosopher proper, accidental being profoundly influences human lives and is the legitimate concern of historians, biographers, and poets who attend to singular events and their causes.

What does it mean to say that accidental being is “as it were, only a name”? #

Answer: Accidental being has no independent principle of being. When we say “Christian geometer,” we are not naming a unified nature or essence, but merely noting that two separate essences happen to belong to one individual. The being of the accidental combination is entirely derivative from the being of its components.

How do historians and poets differ from philosophers in their approach to accidental being? #

Answer: Philosophers are not concerned with accidental being as such, but with being as being and its essential forms. Historians and biographers, by contrast, are deeply interested in accidental events because they shape the course of human life and history. Poets may also employ accidental coincidences as a means of suggesting deeper meanings or divine providence—not to study accident philosophically, but to create powerful dramatic effects.

Notable Quotes #

“Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” — Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

• Expresses Juliet’s frustration that Romeo’s name and identity (accidental properties of his person) stand in the way of their love, not his essential nature.

“Heaven is found means to punish you.” — Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, final scene (spoken by the Prince)

• Suggests that divine providence works through what appears to be accidental tragedy to bring about justice.

“The accidental is, as it were, only a name.” — Aristotle, Metaphysics Book 5

• Emphasizes the minimal ontological status of accidental being.

“No science pays attention to this.” — Aristotle, Metaphysics Book 5

• Establishes the principle that reasoned-out knowledge does not address the accidental because it is rare and unpredictable.