30. Equivocation, Distinction of Senses, and Metaphorical Speech

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Problem of Equivocation #

• Aristotle identifies confusion of word senses as the most common sophistical mistake
• Students predictably confuse different senses of the same term throughout the course
• The philosopher must distinguish senses carefully, especially in wisdom and axiomatic statements

The Four Senses of “Before” (πρότερον/prius) #

1. Before in time (temporal priority)
2. Before in being (ontological priority—if X can exist without Y, but not vice versa, then X is before Y in being)
3. Before in dignity/excellence (value or perfection)
4. Before in knowability (epistemological priority)

Example: Breathing is before philosophizing in being (sense 2), but this does NOT entail it is better (sense 3). Water can exist without wine, but water is not thereby better than wine.

The Whole and Part Distinction #

Two distinct senses confused in student reasoning:

• Universal whole (e.g., animal): said of more things (man, dog, cat, horse)
• Composed whole (e.g., the definition of man as “rational animal”): the parts compose it

Confusion generates apparent contradiction: “The whole is more than a part” seems false when animal (part of man’s definition) is said of more things than man itself. The statements use “whole” and “part” in different senses.

Tools for Distinguishing Senses #

• Examine opposites: liberal opposed to conservative (politics), to stingy (ethics), to servile (liberal arts)—three different meanings
• Look to usage in different contexts (political vs. ethical vs. educational)
• Different opposites signal different meanings

Key Arguments #

Against Confusing Senses of “Before” #

• Objection premise: Breathing is better than philosophizing (from student reasoning)
• Analysis: Students argue breathing is “before” because one cannot philosophize without breathing
• Resolution: This shows “before in being” (sense 2), not “before in excellence” (sense 3)
• Implication: The error confuses ontological with axiological priority

On Metaphorical Speech and Natural Analogy #

• In metaphorical speech, one should not note likeness in all respects—it is likeness, not univocity
• Example: God called metaphorically both fire and water, yet these are opposite in Aristotelian physics (fire is hot-dry; water is wet-moist)
• The same term can signify different perfections: fire signifies light and change; water signifies life and vitality
• This requires the user to understand what aspects of likeness are intended

The Head in Ordered Hierarchies #

• In a natural body, the head has no other head (the body is not part of another body)
• But in metaphorical usage with ordered multitudes, multiple heads are possible
• Example: A captain is head of his company; a colonel is head of multiple companies (head of heads)
• Therefore: The pater familias (head of the household) has the city ruler as his head—no contradiction
• This principle applies to Christ: He can be head of the Church while God is His head

Important Definitions #

Equivocatio/Aequivocatio (equivocation): Using the same word with different meanings, causing confusion in reasoning

Distinctio sensuum (distinction of senses): The method of clarifying multiple meanings of a single term to resolve apparent contradictions

Univocal vs. Analogical: Words are univocal when they have one meaning; they are used analogically when they signify by proportion or likeness rather than univocity

Bonum commune vs. bonum propium (common good vs. private/proper good): Different senses of “good” in ethical discourse

Metaphorical speech (locutio metaphorica): Speech that signifies by likeness rather than direct identity; requires understanding which aspects of likeness are intended

Examples & Illustrations #

The Liberal Example #

• Political context: Liberal opposed to conservative
• Ethical context (Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics IV): Liberal (generous) opposed to stingy
• Educational context: Liberal arts opposed to servile arts
• Contemporary observation: “Political liberals” often generous with others’ money; “political conservatives” give more to charity—different senses of generosity

Breathing and Philosophizing #

• Cannot philosophize without breathing
• Therefore breathing is “before” philosophizing in being
• But this does NOT make breathing “better” than philosophizing (different senses of “before”)
• Breathing is a condition; excellence is a different order

Bricks and a Brick House #

• Bricks can exist without the house; the house cannot exist without bricks
• This shows bricks are “before” the house in being
• But are piled bricks “better” than an ordered brick house? Clearly not
• The senses of priority are confused

The Head Analogy #

• Natural body: The head has no head (the body is not part of another body)
• Ordered multitudes: A captain heads his company; the colonel heads the captain’s company; the general heads the colonel’s unit
• Domestic multitude: The paterfamilias is head of the household; the city ruler is head of the paterfamilias
• Application to Christ: Christ is head of the Church; God is Christ’s head (no contradiction under analogical usage)

Notable Quotes #

“[Aristotle] in the book on the sophistical refutations, gives us the first kind of mistake, is the one from mixing up the senses of a word. And he says that that’s the most common mistake made.”

“In metaphorical speeches, one should not note a likeness as regards all things. Because in this case, it should not be a likeness, but the very truth of the thing.”

“The head of the natural body, there is not another head, right? Why? Because the human body is not part of, what? Another body, right? But the body said in a way of likeness, that is some, what? Ordered multitude is a part of another multitude.”

Questions Addressed #

Can we say breathing is better than philosophizing? #

• Initial student answer: Yes, because one cannot philosophize without breathing
• Berquist’s resolution: This confuses “before in being” (sense 2) with “before in excellence” (sense 3). Breathing is a necessary condition, not a superior good.

Is the whole always more than a part? #

• Apparent counterexample: Animal (part of man’s definition) is said of more things than man
• Resolution: “Whole” and “part” are used in two different senses—universal whole vs. composed whole. The axiom holds in each sense properly understood.

How can God be the head of Christ if Christ is the head of the Church? #

• Objection: A head cannot have a head—this is monstrous
• Resolution: This confuses univocal with analogical speech. In ordered multitudes, multiple heads are possible in hierarchy. The city ruler is head of the paterfamilias, who is head of the household.

What are the different meanings of “liberal”? #

• Political: Liberal vs. conservative
• Ethical: Liberal (generous) vs. stingy
• Educational: Liberal arts vs. servile arts
• Each reflects a different sense because each has a different opposite

Methodological Observations #

Berquist emphasizes that Thomas Aquinas excels at seeing distinctions that others miss. He notes that when Thomas carefully distinguishes senses, apparently intractable problems resolve. This is not mere semantic play but reflects real metaphysical and logical order. The method is universally applicable: whenever confusion arises in philosophy, check whether different senses of key terms are being conflated.

The lecture models philosophical humility: students will predictably make these errors despite being warned. The remedy is not memorization but cultivating the habit of asking, “In what sense is this term being used here?”