Authors/Thomas Aquinas/metaphysics/liber4/lect9

Lecture 9

Latin	English
lib. 4 l. 9 n. 1 Hic ponit quintam rationem, quae sumitur ex veritatis ratione, quae talis est. Dictum est quod affirmatio et negatio simul vera ponuntur: ergo ille, qui suscipit sive opinatur sic se habere, idest affirmationem tantum aut non sic se habere, scilicet ille, qui opinatur negationem esse veram tantum, mentitus est: qui vero opinatur ambo simul, dicit verum. Cum igitur verum sit quando ita est in re sicut est in opinione, vel sicut significatur voce, sequitur quod ipsum quod dicit erit aliquid determinatum in rebus, scilicet quia entium natura talis erit qualis dicitur, ut non patiatur affirmationem et negationem simul. Vel secundum aliam literam quia talis est entium natura: quasi dicat, ex quo hoc quod dicitur est determinate verum, sequitur quod res habeat naturam talem. Si autem dicatur quod ille qui existimat simul affirmationem et negationem, non opinatur verum, sed magis ille qui existimat illo modo, quod vel tantum affirmatio vel tantum negatio sit vera, adhuc manifestum est quod entia se habebunt in aliquo modo determinate. Unde alia translatio habet planius quodammodo et hoc erit verum determinate, et non erit simul non verum ex quo sola affirmatio vel negatio est vera.	652. Here he gives a fifth argument, which is based on the notion of truth, and it runs as follows. It has been stated that both the affirmation and the negation of something are held to be true at the same time. Therefore he who judges or thinks that “a thing is so,” i.e., that the affirmation alone is true, “or is not so,” i.e., that the negation alone is true, is wrong; and he who judges that both are true at the same time is right. Hence, since truth exists when something is such in reality as it is in thought, or as it is expressed in words, it follows that what a man expresses will be something definite in reality; i.e., the nature of beings will be such as it is described to be; so that it will not be at once the subject both of an affirmation and of a negation. Or according to another text, “beings will already be of a certain nature,” as if to say that since the statement is definitely true, it follows that a thing has such a nature. However, if one were to say that it is not he who judges that an affirmation and a negation are true at the same time that has a true opinion, but rather he who thinks that either the affirmation alone is true or the negation alone is true, it is evident that beings will already exist in some determinate way. Hence another translation says more clearly, “and in a sense this will be definitely true and not at the same time not true,” because either the affirmation alone is true or the negation alone is true.
lib. 4 l. 9 n. 2 Sed si omnes praedicti, scilicet et illi qui dicunt utramque partem contradictionis, et illi qui dicunt alteram mentiuntur, et omnes etiam verum dicunt; cum tali qui hoc ponit, non est disputandum nec aliquid dicendum ut disputetur cum eo; vel secundum aliam literam, talis homo non asserit aliquid nec affirmat. Sicut enim alia translatio dicit, nec asserere nec dicere aliquid huiusmodi est, quia similiter unumquodque et dicit et negat. Et si ipse sicut similiter affirmat et negat exterius, ita et similiter interius opinatur et non opinatur, et nihil suscipit quasi determinate verum, in nullo videtur differre a plantis; quia etiam bruta animalia habent determinatas conceptiones. Alius textus habet ab aptis natis: et est sensus, quia talis, qui nihil suscipit, nihil differt in hoc quod actu cogitat ab illis, qui apti nati sunt cogitare, et nondum cogitat actu; qui enim apti nati sunt cogitare de aliqua quaestione, neutram partem asserunt, et similiter nec isti.	653. But if all of those just mentioned, i.e., both those who affirm both parts of a contradiction and those who affirm one of the two, “are wrong,” and all are also right, it will be impossible to carry on a dispute with anyone who maintains this, or even to say anything that might provoke a dispute with him. Or according to another text, “such a man will not affirm or assert anything.” For, as another translation says, “he cannot assert or affirm anything of this kind,” because he equally affirms and denies anything at all. And if this man takes nothing to be definitely true, and similarly thinks and does not think, just as he similarly affirms and denies something in speech, he seems to differ in no way from plants; because even brute animals have certain definite conceptions. Another text reads, “from those disposed by nature,” and this means that such a one who admits nothing does not differ in what he is actually thinking from those who are naturally disposed to think but are not yet actually thinking. For those who are naturally disposed to think about any question do not affirm either part of it, and similarly neither do the others.
lib. 4 l. 9 n. 3 Deinde cum dicit unde et maxime ponit sextam rationem, quae sumitur ab electione et fuga: et circa hoc duo facit. Primo ponit rationem. Secundo excludit quamdam cavillosam responsionem, ibi, si autem non scientes et cetera. Dicit ergo primo, quod manifestum est quod nullus homo sic disponitur ut credat affirmationem et negationem simul verificari; nec illi qui hanc positionem ponunt, nec etiam alii. Si enim idem esset ire domum et non ire, quare aliquis iret domum et non quiesceret, si putaret quod hoc ipsum quiescere, esset ire domum? Patet ergo, ex quo aliquis vadit et non quiescit, quod aliud putat esse ire et non ire.	654. It is most evident (349). Then he gives a sixth argument, which is based on desire and aversion. In regard to this he does two things. First, he gives the argument. Second (350:C 658), he rejects an answer which is a quibble (“And if they”). He accordingly says, first (349), that it is evident that no man is of such a mind as to think that both an affirmation and a negation can be verified of the same subject at the same time. Neither those who maintain this position nor any of the others can think in this way. For if to go home were the same as not to go home, why would someone go home rather than remain where he is, if he were of the opinion that to remain where he is is the same as to go home? Therefore, from the fact that someone goes home and does not remain where he is it is clear that he thinks that to go and not to go are different.
lib. 4 l. 9 n. 4 Et similiter si aliquis incedit per aliquam viam, quae forte directe vadit ad puteum vel ad torrentem, non recte incedit per viam illam, sed videtur timere casum in puteum aut in torrentem. Et hoc ideo, quia incidere in torrentem vel puteum non putat esse similiter bonum et non bonum, sed absolute putat esse non bonum. Si autem putaret esse bonum sicut et non bonum, non magis vitaret quam eligeret. Cum ergo vitet et non eligat, palam est quod ipse suscipit sive opinatur quod unum sit melius, scilicet non incidere in puteum, quod novit esse melius.	655. Similarly, if someone walks along a path which happens to lead directly to a well or a brook, he does not proceed straight along that path but seems to fear that he will fall into the well or brook. This happens because he judges that to fall into a well or a brook is not equally good and not good, but he judges absolutely that it is not good. However, if he were to judge that it is both good and not good, he would not avoid the above act any more than he would desire it. Therefore, since he avoids doing this and does not desire it, obviously he judges or thinks that the one course is better, namely, not to fall into the well, because fie knows that it is better.
lib. 4 l. 9 n. 5 Et si hoc est in non bono et bono, similiter necesse est esse in aliis, ut videlicet opinetur quod hoc sit homo, et illud non homo: et hoc sit dulce et illud non dulce. Quod ex hoc patet, quia non omnia aequaliter quaerit et opinatur, cum ipse putet melius aquam bibere dulcem quam non dulcem, et melius videre hominem quam non hominem. Et ex ista diversa opinione sequitur quod determinate quaerit unum et non aliud. Oporteret siquidem quod similiter utraque quaereret, scilicet dulce et non dulce, hominem et non hominem, si existimaret quod essent eadem contradictoria. Sed, sicut dictum est, nullus est qui non videatur hoc timere et illa non timere. Et sic per hoc ipsum quod homo afficitur diversimode ad diversa, dum quaedam timet et quaedam desiderat, oportet quod non existimet idem esse quodlibet et non esse.	656. And if this is true of what is good and what is not good, the same thing must apply in other cases, so that clearly one judges that one thing is a man and another not a man, and that one thing is sweet and another not sweet. This is evident from the fact that he does not seek all things to the same degree or make the same judgment about them, since he judges that it is better to drink water which is sweet than to drink that which is not sweet; and that it is better to see a man than to see something which is not a man. And from this difference in opinion it follows that he definitely desires the one and not the other; for he would have to desire both equally, i.e., both the sweet and the not-sweet, and both man and not-man, if he thought that contradictories were the same. But, as has been said before (349)C 655), there is no one who does not seem to avoid the one and not the other. So by the very fact that a man is differently disposed to various things inasmuch as he avoids some and desires others, he must not think that the same thing both is and is not.
lib. 4 l. 9 n. 6 Sic ergo patet quod omnes opinantur se habere veritatem vel in affirmativa tantum, vel in negativa, et non utraque simul. Et si non in omnibus, saltem in bonis et malis, vel in melioribus et in deterioribus. Ex hac enim differentia provenit quod quaedam quaeruntur et quaedam timentur.	657. It is evident, then that all men think that truth consists in affirmation alone or in negation alone and not in both at the same time. And if they do not think that this applies in all cases, they at least are of the opinion that it applies in the case of things which are good or evil or of those which are better or worse; for this difference accounts for the fact that some things are desired and others are avoided.
lib. 4 l. 9 n. 7 Deinde cum dicit si autem non excludit quamdam cavillationem. Posset enim aliquis dicere quod homines quaedam desiderant tamquam bona, et alia fugiunt tamquam non bona, non quasi scientes veritatem, sed quasi opinantes, quod non idem sit bonum et non bonum, licet idem sit secundum rei veritatem. Sed si hoc est verum, quod homines non sunt scientes, sed opinantes, multo magis debent curare ut addiscant veritatem. Quod sic patet; quia infirmus magis curat de sanitate quam sanus. Ille autem, qui opinatur non verum, non disponitur salubriter ad veritatem in comparatione ad scientem: habet enim se ad scientem sicut infirmus ad sanitatem. Defectus enim scientiae est opinio falsa, sicut aegritudo sanitatis. Et sic patet, quod homines debent curare de veritate invenienda: quod non esset, si nihil esset verum determinate, sed simul aliquid verum et non verum.	658. And if they (350). Then he rejects a quibble. For some one could say that men desire some things inasmuch as they are good and avoid others inasmuch as they are not good, not because they know the truth but because they are of the opinion that the same thing is not both good and not good, although this amounts to the same thing in reality. But if it is true that men do not have science but opinion, they ought to care all the more about learning the truth. This is made clear as follows: one who is ill cares more about health than one who is well. But one who has an untrue opinion, in comparison with one who has scientific knowledge, is not healthily disposed towards the truth, because he is in the same state with regard to scientific knowledge as a sick man is with regard to health; for a false opinion is a lack of scientific knowledge just as illness is a lack of health. Thus it is evident that men ought to care about discovering the truth. However, this would not be the case if nothing were definitely true, but only if something were both true and not true at the same time.
lib. 4 l. 9 n. 8 Deinde cum dicit amplius quia ponit septimam rationem, quae sumitur ex diversis gradibus falsitatis. Dicit ergo, quod etsi maxime verum sit quod omnia sic se habeant et non sic, idest quod affirmatio et negatio sint simul vera, et omnia sint simul vera et falsa, sed tamen in natura entium oportet quod aliquid sit magis et minus verum. Constat enim quod non similiter se habet ad veritatem, quod duo sunt paria, et tria sunt paria: nec similiter se habet ad mendacium dicere quod quatuor sunt pente idest quinque, et quod sint mille. Si enim sunt falsa similiter, manifestum est quod alterum est minus falsum, scilicet dicere quatuor esse quinque, quam dicere quatuor esse mille. Quod autem est minus falsum, est verum magis vel propinquius vero, sicut et minus nigrum, quod est albo propinquius. Patet ergo quod alter eorum magis dicit verum, idest magis appropinquat veritati, scilicet ille qui dicit quatuor esse quinque. Sed non esset aliquid affinius vero vel propinquius, nisi esset aliquid simpliciter verum, cui propinquius vel affinius esset magis verum et minus falsum. Relinquitur ergo quod aliquid oportet ponere esse absolute verum, et non omnia vera et falsa; quia sequitur ex hoc quod contradictio sit simul vera. Et si per praedictam rationem non sequitur quod aliquid sit absolute verum, tamen iam habetur quod aliquid est verius et firmius sive certius alio. Et sic non eodem modo se habet ad veritatem et certitudinem affirmatio et negatio. Et ita per hanc rationem et per alias praecedentes erimus liberati vel remoti a ratione, idest opinione non mixta, idest non temperata (unde alius textus habet, distemperata): tunc enim opinio est bene contemperata, quando praedicatum non repugnat subiecto: cum autem opinio implicat opposita, tunc non bene contemperatur. Talis autem est praedicta positio, quae dicit contradictionem verificari.	659. Further, even if all (351). Then he gives a seventh argument, which is based on the different degrees of falsity. He says that even if it should be most true that everything is so and not so, i.e., that an affirmation and its negation are true at the same time, still it is necessary that different degrees of truth should exist in reality. For obviously it is not equally true to say that two is even and that three is even; nor is it equally false to say that four is five, and that it is a thousand. For if both are equally false, it is evident that one is less false, i.e., it is less false to say that four is five than to say that it is a thousand. But what is less false is truer, or nearer to the truth, just as that is also less black which is nearer to white. Therefore it is clear that one of them speaks more truly, i.e., he comes nearer to the truth; and this is the one who says that four is five. But nothing would be closer or nearer to the truth unless there were something which is absolutely true in relation to which the nearer or closer would be truer and less false. It follows, then, that it is necessary to posit something which is unqualifiedly true, and that not all things are both true and false, because otherwise it would follow from this that contradictories are true at the same time. And even if it does not follow from the foregoing argument that there is something which is unqualifiedly true, still it has been stated already that one thing is truer and firmer or more certain than another (351:C 659); and thus affirmation and negation are not related in the same way to truth and certitude. Hence as a result of this argument and the others given above we shall be freed or liberated from this theory, i.e., from this non-mixed opinion, or one that is not tempered (and for this reason another text has “intemperate”); for an opinion is well tempered when the predicate is not repugnant to the subject. But when an opinion involves opposite notions, it is not well tempered; and the position mentioned above, which says that contradictories can be true, is an opinion of this kind.
lib. 4 l. 9 n. 9 Item prohibet ne mente aliquid possimus definire vel determinare. Prima enim ratio distinctionis consideratur in affirmatione et negatione. Unde qui affirmationem et negationem unum esse dicit, omnem determinationem sive distinctionem excludit.	660. Further, this position prevents us from being able to define or settle anything in our mind. For the first notion of difference is considered in affirmation and negation. Hence he who says that an affirmation and a negation are one does away with all definiteness or difference.
lib. 4 l. 9 n. 10 Deinde cum dicit est autem ostendit quod opinio Protagorae reducitur in eamdem sententiam cum praedicta positione. Dicebat enim Protagoras, quod omnia, quae videntur alicui esse vera, omnia sunt vera. Et siquidem haec positio est vera, necesse est primam positionem esse veram, scilicet quod affirmatio et negatio sint simul vera. Et per consequens, quod omnia sint simul vera et falsa, sicut ex hac positione sequitur, ut supra ostensum est. Quod sic ostendit. Multi enim homines opinantur sibiinvicem contraria: et putant quod illi, qui non eadem opinantur quod ipsi, mentiantur, et e converso. Si ergo quidquid alicui videtur hoc est verum, sequitur quod utrique mentiantur, et verum dicant, quod idem sit et non sit. Et sic ad opinionem Protagorae sequitur quod contradictio simul verificetur.	661. The doctrine of Protagoras (352). Here he shows that the opinion of Protagoras is reduced to the same position as the one mentioned above. For Protagoras said that everything which seems to be true to anyone is true. And if this position is true, the first one must also be true, namely, that an affirmation and its negation are true at the same time. Hence all things must be true and false at the same time inasmuch as this follows from this position, as has been shown above (351:C 659). He proves this as follows. Many men have opinions which are contrary to one another, and they think that those who do not have the same opinions as themselves are wrong, and vice versa. If, then, whatever seems so to anyone is true, it follows that both are wrong and both are right, because the same thing is and is not. Hence according to the opinion of Protagoras it follows that both parts of a contradiction are true at the same time.
lib. 4 l. 9 n. 11 Similiter etiam si hoc est verum quod contradictio simul verificetur, necessarium est opinionem Protagorae esse veram, scilicet quod omnia quae videntur aliquibus esse vera, sint vera. Constat enim quod aliqui habent diversas opiniones; quorum quidam sunt mentientes, et quidam sunt verum dicentes, quia opinantur sibiinvicem opposita. Si ergo omnia opposita sunt simul vera, quod sequitur si contradictoria simul verificentur, necessario sequitur quod omnes dicant verum, et quod videtur alicui sit verum; et sic patet quod eiusdem sententiae vel intellectus vel rationis est utraque positio, quia ad unam sequitur alia de necessitate.	662. Similarly, if it is true that both parts of a contradiction are true at the same time, the opinion of Protagoras must be true, namely, that all things which seem true to anybody are true. For it is clear that people have different opinions, and some of these are false and others are true because they have opinions which are opposed to each other. If, then, all opposites are true at the same time (and this follows if contradictories are true at the same time), the result must be that all are right, and that what seems so to anyone is true. Thus it is clear that each position contains the same opinion, theory, or way of thinking, because one necessarily follows from the other.