We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
Only [species and genera, among predicables,] reveal the primary substances [e.g. Socrates]. For if one is to say of the individual man what he is it will be in place to give the species or the genus (though more informative to give man than animal); but to give any other thing would be out of place – for example to say ‘white’ or ‘runs’ or anything like that.
(Aristotle, Categories 2b30–7, as translated by J. L. Ackrill, Oxford, 1963, but with italics and square bracket additions.)[Man or animal] does not signify simply a certain qualification, as white does. White signifies nothing but a qualification, whereas species and genus mark off the kind of substance – they signify what sort of substance.
(Aristotle, Categories 3b17–21, translation and paraphrase based on J. L. Ackrill, op. cit., vide p. 88.)A CENTRAL QUESTION ABOUT IDENTITY; AND RIVAL ANSWERS GIVEN BY DEFENDERS OF THE ABSOLUTENESS OF IDENTITY AND THE RELATIVITY OF IDENTITY
If somebody claims of something named or unnamed that it moves, or runs or is white, he is liable to be asked the question by which Aristotle sought to define the category of substance: What is it that moves (or runs or is white)? Perhaps one who makes the claim that something moves does not need to know the answer to this question in order to enter his claim. It is not hard to envisage circumstances in which he can know that it moves without knowing what the thing is.
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.
