Authors/Thomas Aquinas/posteriorum/L1/Lect7

Lecture 7 Discussion of two errors-exclusion of the first one

Latin	English
	Lecture 7 (72b5-24) DISCUSSION OF TWO ERRORS—EXCLUSION OF THE FIRST ONE
lib. 1 l. 7 n. 1 Postquam determinavit philosophus de cognitione principiorum demonstrationis, hic excludit errores ex praedeterminata veritate exortos. Et circa hoc tria facit: primo, ponit errores; secundo, rationes errantium; ibi: supponentes quidem igitur etc., tertio, excludit rationum radices; ibi: nos autem dicimus et cetera.	After determining about the knowledge of the principles of demonstration, the Philosopher now excludes the errors which have arisen from these determinations. Concerning this he does three things. First, he states the errors. Secondly, the reasons they erred (72b8). Thirdly, he removes the roots of these reasons (72b18).
lib. 1 l. 7 n. 2 Dicit ergo primo quod ex una veritate superius determinata duo errores contrarii sunt exorti. Determinatum est enim supra quod oportet principia demonstrationis scire, immo quod etiam ea magis scire oportet. Sed primum solum sufficit ad propositum. Propter hoc autem videtur quibusdam quod nullius rei sit scientia; quibusdam autem videtur quod sit quidem scientia, sed quod omnium possit haberi scientia per demonstrationem. Neutrum autem horum est verum, nec necessario consequitur ex rationibus eorum.	He says therefore first (72b5), that two contrary errors have arisen from one of the truths established above. For it has been established above that the principles of demonstration must be known and must be even better known. But the first of these is sufficient for our purpose. For some, basing themselves on this first statement, have come to believe that there is no science of anything, whereas others believe that there is science, even to the extent of believing that there is science of everything through demonstration. But neither of these positions is true and neither follows necessarily from their reasons.
lib. 1 l. 7 n. 3 Deinde, cum dicit: supponentes etc., ponit rationes quibus in praedictos errores incidunt. Et primo ponit rationem dicentium quod non est scientia. Quae talis est. Principia demonstrationis aut procedunt in infinitum aut est status in eis. Si proceditur in infinitum, non est in eis accipere prima: quia infinita non est transire, ut ad primum veniatur: et ita non est primum cognoscere. Et in hoc recte argumentantur. Nam posteriora non possunt cognosci, ignoratis primis.	Then (72b8) he presents the reasons why they have fallen into these errors. And first of all he presents the reason given by those who say that there is no science, and it is this: The principles of demonstration either proceed to infinity or there is a halt somewhere. But if there is a process to infinity, nothing in that process can be taken as being first, because one cannot exhaust an infinite series and reach what is first. Consequently, it is not possible to know what is first. (They are correct in thus arguing, for the later things cannot be known unless the prior ones are known).
Si autem stetur in principiis, oportet quod prima nesciantur; si scire solum est per demonstrationem: non enim prima habent aliqua priora, per quae demonstrentur. Si autem prima ignorentur, oportet et posteriora iterum non scire simpliciter nec proprie: sed solum sub hac conditione, si principia sunt. Non enim potest per aliquid ignotum aliquid cognosci, nisi sub hac conditione, si illud primum quod ignotum est, sit. Ergo sequitur utroque modo, sive principia stent, sive in eis procedatur in infinitum, quod nullius rei est scientia.	On the other hand, if there is a halt in the principles, then even so, the first things are still not known, if the only way to know scientifically is through demonstration. For first things do not have prior principles through which they are demonstrated. But if the first things are not known, it follows again that the later things are not known in the strict and proper sense, but only on condition that there are principles. For it is not possible for something to be known in virtue of something not known, except on condition that that unknown be a principle. So in either case, whether the principles stop or go on to infinity, it follows that there is no science of anything.
lib. 1 l. 7 n. 4 Secundo, cum dicit: quidam autem etc., ponit rationem dicentium omnium esse scientiam per demonstrationem: quia praemissae radici, scilicet quod non esset scire nisi per demonstrationem, addebant aliam, scilicet quod posset circulariter demonstrari. Sic enim sequebatur quod etiamsi in principiis demonstrationis esset status, prima tamen principia erat scire per demonstrationem: quia illa prima dicebant demonstrari ex posterioribus. Nam circulariter demonstrare est demonstrare ex invicem, idest ut quod primo fuit principium, postmodum fiat conclusio et e converso.	Secondly (72b15), he presents the reasoning of those who say that there is science of everything through demonstration, because to their there is science of everything through demonstration, because to their basic premise-the only way to know scientifically is by demonstration—they added another, namely, that one may demonstrate circularly. From these premises it followed that even if a limit is reached in the series of the principles of demonstration, the first principles are still known through demonstration, because, they said, those principles were demonstrated by previous ones. For a circular demonstration is one which is reciprocal, i.e., something which was first a principle is later a conclusion, and vice versa.
lib. 1 l. 7 n. 5 Deinde, cum dicit: nos autem dicimus etc., excludit falsas radices praedictarum rationum. Et primo, hoc quod supponebant quod non esset scire nisi per demonstrationem. Secundo, hoc quod dicebant quod contingeret circulariter demonstrari; ibi: circulo quoque et cetera. Dicit ergo primo quod non omnis scientia est demonstrativa, idest per demonstrationem accepta; sed immediatorum principiorum est scientia indemonstrabilis, idest non per demonstrationem accepta.	Then (72b18) he cuts away the false bases of these arguments. First, their supposition that the only way to know scientifically is by demonstration. Secondly, their statement that it is legitimate to demonstrate circularly (72b25). He says therefore first (72b18), that not all scientific knowledge is demonstrative, i.e., obtained through demonstration, but the scientific knowledge of immediate principles is indemonstrable, i.e., not obtained by demonstration.
lib. 1 l. 7 n. 6 Sciendum est tamen quod hic Aristoteles large accipit scientiam pro qualibet certitudinali cognitione, et non secundum quod scientia dividitur contra intellectum, prout dicitur quod, scientia est conclusionum et intellectus principiorum.	However, it should be noted that Aristotle is here taking science in a wide sense to include any knowledge that is certain, and not in the sense in which science is set off against understanding, according to the dictum that science deals with conclusions and understanding [intuition] with principles.
lib. 1 l. 7 n. 7 Quod autem hoc necessarium sit, scilicet quod certa cognitio aliquorum habeatur sine demonstratione, sic probat. Necesse est scire priora, ex quibus est demonstratio; sed haec aliquando contingit reducere in aliqua immediata: alias oporteret dicere quod inter duo extrema, scilicet subiectum et praedicatum essent infinita media in actu; immo plus, quod non esset aliqua duo accipere, inter quae non essent infinita media. Qualitercunque autem media assumantur, est accipere aliquid alteri immediatum. Immediata autem, cum sint priora, oportet esse indemonstrabilia. Et ita patet quod necesse est aliquorum scientiam habere sine demonstratione.	But that it is necessary for some things to be held as certain without demonstration he proves in the following way: It is necessary that the prior things from which a demonstration proceeds be known in a scientific way. Furthermore, these must be ultimately reduced to something immediate; otherwise one would be forced to admit that there is an actual infinitude of middles between two extremes—in this case between the subject and predicate. Again, one would have to admit that no two extremes could be found between which there would not be an infinitude of middles. But as it is, the middles are such that it is possible to find two things which are immediate. But immediate principles, being prior, must be indemonstrable. Thus it is clear that it is necessary for some things to be scientifically known without demonstration.
lib. 1 l. 7 n. 8 Si ergo quaeratur quomodo immediatorum habeatur scientia, respondet quod non solum eorum est scientia, immo eorum cognitio est principium quoddam totius scientiae. Nam ex cognitione principiorum derivatur cognitio conclusionum, quarum proprie est scientia. Ipsa autem principia immediata non per aliquod medium extrinsecum cognoscuntur, sed per cognitionem propriorum terminorum. Scito enim quid est totum et quid est pars, cognoscitur quod omne totum est maius sua parte: quia in talibus propositionibus, ut supra dictum est, praedicatum est de ratione subiecti. Et ideo rationabiliter cognitio horum principiorum est causa cognitionis conclusionum: quia semper, quod est per se, est causa eius, quod est per aliud.	Therefore, if someone were to ask how the science of immediate principles is possessed, the answer would be that not only are they known in a scientific manner, but knowledge of them is the source of an science. For one passes from the knowledge of principles to a demonstration of conclusion on which science, properly speaking, bears. But those immediate principles are not made known through an additional middle but through an understanding of their own terms. For as soon as it is known what a whole is and what a part is, it is known that every whole is greater than its part, because in such a proposition, as has been stated above, the predicate is included in the very notion of the subject. And therefore it is reasonable that the knowledge of these principles is the cause of the knowledge of conclusions, because always, that which exists in virtue of itself is the cause of that which exists in virtue of something else.