Authors/Thomas Aquinas/metaphysics/liber4/lect15

Lecture 15

Latin	English
lib. 4 l. 15 n. 1 Disputat contra illos, qui praedictam rationem non ex ratione, sed ex pertinacia susceperunt: et circa hoc duo facit. Primo ponit qualiter isti moventur ad hanc opinionem ponendam. Secundo ostendit qualiter est resistendum, ibi, qui vero vim in solo verbo et cetera. Dicit ergo primo, quod praeter praedictos qui in praedictam opinionem ex quibusdam dubitationibus inciderunt, sunt aliqui qui interrogant persuasos in his, scilicet opinionibus, idest deceptos, ut eos in deceptione detineant, et has solas rationes habent ad suam opinionem confirmandam. Alia translatio habet: sunt autem quidam qui deficiunt sive dubitant huiusmodi persuasorum has rationes solum dicentium. Et est sensus, quia quidam deceptorum, qui praedictam opinionem tenent, has solas dubitationes tenent, et his rationibus utuntur, quae infra dicentur. Si enim dicatur eis quod inter contrarias opiniones credendum est magis sanis quam infirmis, et sapientibus quam ignorantibus, et vigilantibus quam dormientibus, ipsi iterato quaerunt quomodo possit diiudicari sanus per certitudinem ab infirmo, et vigilans a dormiente, et sapiens a stulto: et breviter in omnibus diversitatibus opinionum quomodo potest discerni quis illorum iudicat recte in omnibus, cum quibusdam videatur aliquis esse sapiens qui aliis videtur stultus, et sic de aliis.	708. He argues against those who adopted the above-mentioned theory not because of any reason but merely because they are obstinate; and in regard to this he does two things. First (376)C 7o8), he shows how these men were moved to adopt this opinion; and second (377:C 711), how thit opinion must be dealt with (“But those who”). He accordingly says, first (376), that, besides the foregoing thinkers who adopted the above-mentioned opinion because of certain difficulties, there are some “among those who have been persuaded to accept these views,” or opinions (i.e., those who continue to deceive themselves and have only these arguments to support their view), who raise a question. Another translation reads: “Now there are some, both of those who have been convinced by theories of this kind and of those who merely state them, who are puzzled or raise a question.” And this statement means that some of those who are puzzled, i.e., some of those who hold the above-mentioned opinion, consider only these difficulties and use the arguments which are given below. For if someone says to them that in the case of contrary opinions we should believe those persons who are healthy rather than those who are ill, and those who are wise rather than those who are ignorant, and those who are awake rather than those who are asleep, they will immediately ask how it is possible to distinguish with certainty between a healthy person and a sick one, and one who is awake and one who is asleep, and one who is wise and one who is foolish. In short, regarding all differences of opinion they will ask how it is possible to decide which one of these judges rightly in each particular case; for a man may seem to be wise to some and foolish to others, and the same applies in other cases.
lib. 4 l. 15 n. 2 Sed istae dubitationes stultae sunt. Similes enim sunt illi dubitationi, qua dubitatur, utrum nunc dormiamus, an vigilemus. Horum enim omnium distinctio per se non est. Omnes autem dubitationes praedictae idem valent, quia ex eadem radice procedunt. Volunt enim isti sophistae quod omnium possent accipi rationes demonstrativae. Patet enim quod ipsi quaerebant accipere aliquod principium, quod esset eis quasi regula ad discernendum inter infirmum et sanum, inter vigilantem et dormientem. Nec erant contenti istam regulam qualitercumque scire, sed eam volebant per demonstrationem accipere. Ergo quod ipsi decepti sunt, manifestum est in eorum actibus secundum quod diximus. Ex quibus apparet quod positio eorum sit falsa. Nam si aequaliter efficax esset iudicium dormientis et vigilantis, eadem sequerentur in actibus hominum ex utroque iudicio; quod patet esse falsum. Alia litera habet: quandoque vero quod non persuasi sunt: et est sententia convenientior praemissis. Ipsi enim licet hoc ponant et oretenus quaerant, non tamen mente in hoc decipiuntur quod credant similiter esse verum iudicium dormientis et vigilantis; quod ex eorum actibus patet, ut dictum est.	709. But these questions are foolish, for they are similar to the question whether we are now asleep or awake; for the distinction between all of these is not essential. Yet all of the foregoing difficulties amount to the same thing since they have a common root. For these sophists desire that demonstrative arguments should be given for all things; for it is obvious that they wanted to take some starting point which would be for them a kind of rule whereby they could distinguish between those who are healthy and those who are ill, and between those who are awake and those who are asleep. And they were not content to know this rule in just any way at all but wanted to acquire it by demonstration. That these men were in error, then, becomes evident from their actions, according to what has been said. And from these considerations it appears that their position is false; for if the judgments of one who is asleep and of one who is awake were equally good, then the same thing would result from each judgment when men act. But this is clearly false. Another text says, “But that sometimes they are not convinced they make evident in their actions”; and this statement is the clearer one in the light of the things laid down above. For although these men maintain this view and raise such questions, still they are not deceived in their own mind so that they believe the judgment of one who is asleep and the judgment of one who is awake to be equally true. And this is clear from their actions, as has been pointed out.
lib. 4 l. 15 n. 3 Sed quamvis non sint decepti ut in hoc dubitent, haec tamen est passio eorum, idest infirmitas mentis quod quaerunt rationem demonstrativam eorum quorum non est demonstratio. Nam principium demonstrationis non est demonstratio, idest de eo demonstratio esse non potest. Et hoc est eis facile ad credendum, quia non est hoc difficile sumere etiam per demonstrationem. Ratio enim demonstrativa probat quod non omnia demonstrari possunt, quia sic esset abire in infinitum.	710. But even though they are not deceived so as to be perplexed in this matter, this “nevertheless is characteristic of them,” i.e., this weakness of mind that they should seek a demonstrative argument for things for which no demonstration can be given. For “the starting point of demonstration is not demonstration”; i.e., there can be no demonstration of it. And this is easy for them to believe, because this too is not difficult to grasp by demonstration; for a demonstrative argument proves that not all things can be demonstrated, otherwise there would be an infinite regress.
lib. 4 l. 15 n. 4 Deinde cum dicit qui vero disputat contra istos, vel contra alios, qui nec hac ratione moventur ad ponendum omnia apparentia esse vera, quia non potest per demonstrationem accipi regula, per quam certitudinaliter possit discerni inter iudicantes vere et non vere, sed solum ex quadam protervia rationem praedictam ponunt. Et circa hoc tria facit. Primo ostendit quod tales protervientes tendant ducere ad impossibile. Secundo qualiter resistendum est eis apparenter, ibi, verum si non omnia. Tertio qualiter eis obviandum est secundum veritatem, ibi, et sicut praedictum est et cetera. Dicit ergo primo, quod illi qui quaerunt vim in solo verbo, idest qui non moventur ex aliqua ratione, nec propter difficultatem alicuius dubitationis, nec propter defectum demonstrationis, sed solum verbis innituntur, et credunt quod omnia possunt dicere quae improbari non possunt, isti tales quaerunt ducere ad aliquod impossibile. Volunt enim ad hoc ducere, quod contraria sint simul vera, per hoc quod omnia apparentia sunt vera.	711. But those who (377). He now argues against the other philosophers, i.e., against those who were not moved to maintain that all appearances are true on the grounds that no rule can be established demonstratively whereby it is possible to distinguish with certainty between those who judge rightly and those who do not, but who hold the above-mentioned theory or view only because they are insolent. In regard to this he does three things. First (377:C 711), he shows that such insolence tends to lead to an impossible conclusion. Second (378:C 712), he indicates the way in which it seems necessary to oppose them (“Yet if not all things”). Third (379:C V6), he explains how we must meet their argument from the viewpoint of truth (“And, as has been”). He accordingly says, first (377), that those who seek “compulsion merely in words,” i.e., those who are not moved by any reason or because of the difficulty involved in some problem or because of some failure in demonstration but depend solely on words and believe that they can say anything which cannot be disproved-such people as these want to argue to an impossible conclusion. For they want to adopt the principle that contraries are true at the same time on the grounds that all appearances are true.
lib. 4 l. 15 n. 5 Deinde cum dicit verum si docet ex eorum positione eis resistere, et praedictum inconveniens evitare; dicens, quod nisi ponantur omnia quae sunt esse ad aliquod, non potest dici, quod omne apparens sit verum. Si enim sunt quaedam in rebus, quae secundum se habent esse absolutum, non per relationis sensum vel opinionem, non idem erit eis esse quod apparere: hoc enim dicit relationem ad sensum vel opinionem, quia apparens alicui apparet. Et ita oportebit quod non apparens sit verum. Patet igitur quod quicumque dicit omnia apparentia esse vera, facit omnia entia esse ad aliquid, scilicet in respectu ad opinionem vel sensum. Et ideo contra praedictos sophistas, qui quaerunt vim in oratione, si aliquis dignetur eis dare orationem, idest concedere hanc positionem, quam ipsi ponunt, custodiendum sive observandum est eis ne deducantur ad concedendum contradictoria simul esse vera; quia non est dicendum absolute quod omne apparens est verum; sed quod apparet, est verum cui apparet, et quantum apparet, et quando apparet et sicut apparet: hoc enim licitum erat nobis apponere, ex quo res non habent esse absolutum, sed relativum tantum.	712. Yet if not all (378). Then he shows how we may oppose these men by using their own position and avoid the foregoing impossible conclusion. He says that, unless everything which is, is claimed to be relative, it cannot be said that every appearance is true. For if there are some things in the world which have absolute being and are not relative to perception or to opinion, being and appearing will not be the same; for appearing implies a relation to perception or to opinion, because that which appears appears to someone; and thus whatever is not an appearance must be true. It is clear, then, that whoever says that all appearances are true, makes all beings relative, i.e., to perception or to opinion. Hence, in opposing the foregoing sophists who seek compulsion in words, we may say that, if anyone thinks it fitting “to grant this view,” i.e., to concede this opinion which they maintain, he must be careful, or observant, lest he be led to admit that contradictories are true at the same time; for it should not be said unqualifiedly that everything which appears is true, but that what appears is true for the one to whom it appears, and inasmuch as it appears, and when it appears, and in the manner in which it appears. We would be allowed to add these qualifications on the grounds that a thing does not have being in an absolute sense but only relatively.
lib. 4 l. 15 n. 6 Ideo autem hoc observandum est volentibus hanc positionem concedere, quia si aliquis concedat eis quod omne apparens est verum, et ita non concedat cum praedictis determinationibus, sicut dictum est, sequeretur quod statim dicat contraria simul esse vera. Contingit enim quod idem secundum visum videtur mel propter similem colorem mellis, et secundum gustum non mel propter dissimilem saporem. Et similiter cum duo oculi sint dissimiles, non eadem est visio quae fit per utrumque oculum, vel non eadem videntur utrique visui qui fit per utrumque oculum. Ut si pupilla unius oculi infecta sit aliquo grosso vel nigro vapore, alia vero pura, videbuntur per oculum infectum omnia nigra vel obscura, per alium autem non. Ideo autem dico hoc esse custodiendum vel observandum, quia hoc est necessarium apud praedictos sophistas, qui dicunt ex causis praedictis omne apparens esse verum.	713. Now this should be noted by those who want to adopt this position, because if someone were to grant them that every appearance is true, and thus not admit the above-mentioned qualifications, as has been stated, it would follow immediately that he is saying that contraries are true at the same time. For it is possible that the same thing may appear to be honey to the sense of sight because its color resembles that of honey, and not appear to be honey to the sense of taste because it does not taste like honey. And similarly when two eyes are unlike, the vision which is had through each is not the same, or the visual impressions which we get through each eye do not seem the same. For example, if the pupil of one eye were infected by some gross or dark vapor, and the other were free of this, all things would seem dark or obscure through the infected eye but not through the good one. I say, then, that one must be careful, or observant, because this is necessary in confronting the foregoing sophists, who say, for the reasons given above (376:C 708), that every appearance is true.
lib. 4 l. 15 n. 7 Et ex hoc sequi potest, quod omnia similiter sunt vera et falsa, propter hoc quod non omnibus eadem apparent, nec etiam eadem ad seipsum, cum multoties idem homo secundum idem tempus iudicet contraria secundum diversos sensus. Sicut visus iudicat esse unum, quod tactus iudicat esse duo propter variationem digitorum, qua contingit quod idem tangibile per diversa instrumenta tangibilia, scilicet tactus per diversos digitos, ad vim tactivam pervenit ac si essent duo tangibilia. Nullatenus autem eidem homini secundum eumdem sensum similiter et in eodem tempore, videtur quod hoc sit verum, scilicet contraria simul esse.	714. And from this position it would also follow that all things are equally true and false, because they do not appear the same to all men or even the same to one man, since the same man very often makes contrary judgments about the same thing at the same time on the basis of different senses; for example, sight judges that thing to be one which touch judges to be two, because when the fingers are crossed it happens that the same tangible object is sensed by different organs of touch; that is, the contact through different fingers affects the tactual power as though there were two tangible objects. But it does not seem to the same man through the same sense and in the same way and at the same time that this is true namely, that contraries are true at the same time.
lib. 4 l. 15 n. 8 Ideo autem forsan est necessarium sic respondere praedictis sophistis, qui dicunt non propter dubitationem sed orationis causa, quasi ex protervia ipsam orationem propter seipsam concedentibus, quia hoc non est verum simpliciter, sed huic verum. Ex hoc enim non sequitur contradictoria simul esse vera. Esse enim huic verum, et non esse verum illi, non est contradictorium.	715. Therefore, it is perhaps necessary to use this answer against the above-mentioned sophists who argue thus not because of some difficulty but for the sake of argument (as though upholding this statement for its own sake because they are perverse), namely, that this is not true absolutely but true for this person. For it does not follow from this that contradictories are true at the same time, because it is not contradictory that something should be true for one person and not true for another.
lib. 4 l. 15 n. 9 Deinde cum dicit et sicut docet resistere sophistis praedictis secundum veritatem, et non solum ad hominem; scilicet non concedendo falsam opinionem, quam ipsi ponunt. Et hoc duabus rationibus: quarum prima sic dicit. Sicut dictum est prius, si omne apparens est verum, necesse est facere omnia ad aliquid, scilicet ad opinionem et sensum. Et ex hoc sequitur hoc inconveniens quod nihil sit, nec fiat, nullo opinante. Si autem hoc falsum est, quia multa sunt et fiunt de quibus nulla est opinio vel cognitio, sicut quae sunt in profundo maris vel in visceribus terrae, manifestum est quod non omnia sunt ad aliquid, idest ad opinionem et sensum. Et ita non omne apparens est verum.	716. And, as has been said (379). He tells us that we should oppose the foregoing sophists from the standpoint of the truth and not just offer an argument ad hominem, namely, not by granting the false opinion which they maintain. And he does this by means of two arguments. The first is this: as has been stated before, if everything which appears is true, they must “make all things relative,” i.e., to perception or to opinion. Now from this the untenable position follows that nothing may exist or come to be if it is not thought of in some way. But if this is false (because’ many things are and come to be of which there is neither opinion nor knowledge, for example, things which exist in the depths of the sea or in the bowels of the earth), it is evident that not all things are relative, i.e., to perception or to opinion. Hence not every appearance is true.
lib. 4 l. 15 n. 10 Deinde cum dicit amplius si ponit secundam rationem, dicens, quod unum non refertur nisi ad unum; et non ad quodcumque unum, sed ad unum determinatum. Sicut patet quod sint idem subiecto dimidium et aequale; non tamen ad aequale dicitur duplum, sed magis ad dimidium. Aequale vero dicetur ad aequale. Et similiter si ipse homo qui est opinans sit etiam opinatus, non refertur homo ad opinans inquantum est opinans, sed inquantum est opinatus. Si igitur omnia entia inquantum sunt huiusmodi, referuntur ad opinans inquantum opinans est, sequetur quod hoc quod dico opinans non sit unum, cum ad unum non referatur nisi unum, sed infinita secundum speciem, cum infinita referantur ad ipsum; quod est impossibile. Unde non potest dici quod omnia relative dicantur ad opinans, nec per consequens quod omne apparens vel opinans sit verum.	717. Further, if a thing (380). He gives the second argument. He says that what is one is relative only to one thing, and not to any one thing at all but to a determinate one. For example, it is clear that the half and the equal may be the same in their subject, yet the double is not said to be relative to the equal but rather to the half; but equal is said to be relative to equal. Similarly, if man himself as a thinking subject is also the object of thought, man is not relative to the thinking subject as a thinking subject, but as the object of thought. If, then, all beings are relative to a thinking sub iect as such, it follows that what I call the thinking subject is not one, since one is relative only to one, but it is an infinite number of things in species, since an infinite number of things are related to it. But this is impossible. Hence it cannot be said that all things are said to be relative to a thinking subject, or that everything which appears so, or is thought to be so, is therefore true.
lib. 4 l. 15 n. 11 Deinde cum dicit igitur quia concludit conclusionem suam intentam: et circa hoc duo facit. Primo ponit ipsam principalem conclusionem. Secundo inducit quoddam corollarium ex ea, ibi, si igitur impossibile. Dicit ergo primo, quod ex praedictis patet, quod inter omnes opiniones vel sententias ista est firmissima, qua dicitur oppositas dictiones sive propositiones sive contradictiones non simul esse veras. Et etiam dictum est quae inconvenientia accidunt dicentibus eas simul esse veras, et ex qua causa moti sunt ad illa dicendum.	718. Let this suffice (381). He now draws his intended conclusion, and in regard to this he does two things. First, he draws his main conclusion; and second (382:C 719), he derives a corollary from it (“But since it is impossible”). He accordingly says, first (381), that it is clear from the above statement that the most certain of all opinions or views is the one which states that opposite statements or propositions, i.e., contradictory ones, are not true at the same time. And the impossible conclusions which face those who say that they are true at the same time, and the reason which moved them to say this, have also been explained.
lib. 4 l. 15 n. 12 Deinde cum dicit quoniam autem concludit corollarium, dicens, ex dictis, quod quia impossibile est simul contradictionem verificari de eodem, manifestum est, quod nec etiam contraria eidem inesse possunt; quia manifestum est quod non minus in contrariis alterum eorum est privatio, quam in aliis oppositis, licet utrumque contrariorum sit natura aliqua; quod non est in affirmatione et negatione, vel in privatione et habitu. Alterum enim eorum est imperfectum respectu alterius, sicut nigrum respectu albi, et amarum respectu dulcis. Et sic habet privationem quamdam adiunctam. Privatio autem est aliqua negatio substantiae, idest in aliquo subiecto determinato. Et est etiam ab aliquo genere determinato. Est enim negatio infra genus. Non enim omne non videns dicitur caecum, sed solum in genere videntium. Sic igitur patet quod contrarium includit privationem, et privatio est quaedam negatio. Si igitur impossibile est simul affirmare et negare, impossibile est contraria simul inesse eidem simpliciter, sed vel ambo insunt quo, idest secundum aliquid, sicut quando utrumque in potentia vel secundum partem, vel unum secundum quid et alterum simpliciter: sicut quando unum est in actu et alterum est in potentia; vel unum secundum plures et principaliores partes, alterum tantum secundum aliquam partem, sicut Aethiops est niger simpliciter et albus dente.	719. But since it is impossible (382). He draws the corollary. He says that, since it is impossible, from what has been said, for two contradictories to be true of the same subject at the same time, it is also evident that contraries cannot belong to the same subject; for the privative character of one of two contraries is no less evident in the case of contraries than it is in the case of other opposites, although each of two contraries is a positive reality; for it does not consist in affirmation and negation or in privation and possession. For one of them is imperfect when compared with the other, as black when compared with white, and bitter with sweet; and thus it has a kind of privation added to it. But privation is negation of substance, i.e., in some determinate subject. And it is also the deprivation of some determinate genus; for it is a negation within a genus. For not everything which does not see is said to be blind, but only that which is found in the genus of seeing things. It is clear, then, that a contrary includes privation, and that privation is a kind of negation. Hence, if it is impossible both to affirm and to deny something at the same time, it is also impossible for contraries to belong absolutely to the same subject at the same time; but either “both belong to it,” i.e., relatively, as when both are present potentially or partially, or one is present in a certain respect and the other absolutely; or one is present in many and the more important parts, and the other only in some part; for example, an Ethiopian is black absolutely and white as regards his teeth.