Aristotle’s Philosophy: Truth, Principles, and Categories
Aristotle’s Five Ways to Stay in Truth
Aristotle states that there are five ways to stay in truth:
- Science: Is able to show from first principles.
- Intuition: In philosophy, it is considered as direct knowledge of the axioms, that is, knowledge is necessary.
- Wisdom: Is the set of all the other ways of being in truth.
- Technique: It is a knowledge produced by rules and is to bring something into existence, i.e., produce anything, not necessarily.
- Prudence: Is a live act to know, is contingent but it is not teachable.
Science and intuition form a theoretical knowledge. Technique is a knowledge production. Prudence is a practical knowledge. Aristotle called them the three knowledge.
Two Kinds of Principles or Axioms
Aristotle says that there are two kinds of principles or axioms:
- Logical: Two of the principle of contradiction can not be true: a true proposition and its opposite. The other is the excluded middle can not be both.
- Ontological: Those who refer to be but Aristotle says that being is said in many ways.
Categories
- Substances: What lies beneath is the substrate which remains in the hand, that is, what does not change. It is also the substance of the proposition also is the binding substance of matter and form, as long as the structure of matter, so that the resulting substance does its job.
- Accident: Are attributes of the substance that can change but also the substance.
- Act: The actual being, doing, feeling what it is, and therefore requires no processing and therefore in that sense is perfect.
- Potency: Possibility of what can be and therefore is not yet but needs to change. All power is an act, but not all power is updated to need to stay updated on the nature of the substance and movement/change and therefore the power is always imperfect. The criteria for all categories is CHANGE. Aristotle says that there is probable cause to explain the change.
Four Reasons for Change
This is determined by the change that there are 4 reasons for this:
- Material: What’s done something but in the end the last term is the premium matter is only matter, only power, unknowable (not known), is eternal.
- Formal: Ordered structure to a matter to transform a substance.
- Efficient: A cause unrelated to the substance and only applies to accidents or qualities.
- Final: The order processing and therefore the act, is where you are going to change. This final cause is the cause while first.
Hylomorphism and the Order of the Universe
Aristotle explains the order of the universe. In a system known as hylomorphic is the union between matter and form. This mix of elements can be mixed non-living (rocks) and mixtures living (animals). The highest perfection is the pure form, which is only form, form without matter. The body and soul are unique substances, forming a single whole, so that when separated in death as no human being is known as teleological. The purpose of man is to maximize their specific qualities are two: reason and the will, that means the arete (virtue) is obtained by developing the most of these qualities.
Two Types of Virtue
There are two types of arete:
- The virtue ethics (ethos) are acquired through habit, repetition of habits, these consist of just two ends through vicious one because it is passed, and another because it does not.
- The virtues of understanding (dianoia) acquired through the study. The most important of all is phronesis (prudence) that is able to choose the right thing.
Man as a Social Being
Man is not an isolated individual but a social being by nature assembles spontaneously, how basic is the family group that consists, says Aristotle, the father, mother, children, slaves and the ox mite. The grouping of families as the village still has no political unity, but each family is self-sufficient and the union of ethics village is characterized by common authority, the power structure and division of labor. The end of ethics is the well-being, but happiness of the community not the individual. The maximum fine is autarky.