Aristotle on False Reasoning: Language and the World in the Sophistical Refutations

265 Pages·2003·0.98 MB·English

by  Scott G. Schreiber

Aristotle
on
False Reasoning
SUNY series
in
Ancient Greek Philosophy
Anthony Preus, editor
Aristotle
on
False Reasoning
Language and the World
in the Sophistical Refutations
Scott G. Schreiber
State University of New York Press
Published by
State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2003 State University of New York
Printed in the United States of America
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Schreiber, Scott G. (Scott Gregory), 1952–
Aristotle on false reasoning : language and the world in the Sophistical refutations /
Scott G. Schreiber
p. cm. — (SUNY series in ancient Greek philosophy)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7914-5659-5 (alk. paper) — ISBN 0-7914-5660-9 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Aristotle. 2. Reasoning. 3. Fallacies (Logic) I. Title. II. Series.
B491.R4 S37 2003
185—dc21 2002030968
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Sophia
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Contents
List of Abbreviations xi
Preface xiii
Introduction: Reasoning and the Sophistical Refutations 1
Aristotle on the Kinds of Reasoning 1
The Sophistical Refutations 3
Outline of the Book 4
PART 1: FALLACIES DUE TO LANGUAGE
Chapter 1: The Power of Names 11
Naming Is Not Like Counting 11
“Counters” 13
“Signifiers” 14
Conclusion 18
Chapter 2: Homonymy and Amphiboly 19
Introduction: Aristotle’s Use of l°xiV 19
The Six Sources of False Reasoning Due to Language 20
Homonymy 21
Homonymy in the Categories 21
Homonymy in S.E. 22
Amphiboly 25
Amphiboly in S.E. 26
Amphiboly Outside the Organon 28
Problems with Aristotle’s Distinction: The Argument of S.E. 17 31
Conclusion 34
Chapter 3: Form of the Expression 37
Introduction 37
vii
viii CONTENTS
Form of the Expression As a Category Mistake 38
Confusion of Substance with Quantity 39
Confusion of Substance with Relative 40
Confusion of Substance with Quality 42
Confusion of Substance with Time 42
Confusion of Activity with “Being-Affected” 43
Confusion of Activity with Quality 44
Form of the Expression Fallacies That Are Not Category Mistakes 44
Confusion of a Particular with a Universal 44
Confusion of One Particular Substance with Another 45
Confusions Based on Gender Terminations 45
Form of the Expression and Solecism: Aristotle and Protagoras 48
Form of the Expression As a Linguistic Fallacy of Double Meaning 51
Chapter 4: Composition, Division, and Accent 55
Difficulties and Procedure 55
Fallacies Due to Accent 58
Fallacies Due to Composition and Division (C/D) 60
C/D Fallacies Are Not Examples of Double Meaning 60
The Primacy of Oral Speech 64
Further Examples 65
Confusing Linguistic Parts and Wholes 68
C/D Fallacies in the Rhetoric 72
Conclusion 74
PART 2: RESOLUTIONS OF FALSE ARGUMENTS
Chapter 5: Resolutions of False Arguments 79
Introduction 79
Principles of Aristotelian Analytical Method 80
Two Kinds of Resolution 82
The Principle of Parsimony 84
Proper Refutations and Their Defects: Ignoratio Elenchi 87
Resolutions of Fallacies Due to Language 88
How These Fallacies Violate the Definition of a Refutation 88
The Unity of Composition and Division: S.E. 23 90
The Extralinguistic Component of Resolutions
to Linguistic Fallacies 92
Contents ix
PART 3: FALLACIES OUTSIDE OF LANGUAGE
Chapter 6: Begging the Question and Non-Cause As Cause 97
Introduction 97
The Fallacy of Begging the Question 98
Begging the Question in the Prior Analytics 98
Begging the Question in Dialectical Reasoning 100
Begging the Question and Immediate Inferences 104
Resolutions 106
The Fallacy of Treating a Non-Cause As Cause 107
Conclusion 112
Chapter 7: Accident and Consequent 113
Introduction 113
Fallacies Due to Accident and Their Resolutions 114
False Resolutions to Fallacies Due to Accident 117
False Resolutions by Appeal to Linguistic Equivocation 117
False Resolutions by Appeal to Oblique Context 121
False Resolutions by Citing Missing Qualifications 123
Final Remarks on Double Meaning and Fallacies
Due to Accident 126
Historical Reasons for Treating Fallacies Due to
Accident As Errors of Logical Form 128
Fallacies Due to Consequent 130
Introduction 130
Aristotle’s Examples 132
Conclusion 139
Chapter 8: Secundum Quid 141
Introduction 141
Two Types of Secundum Quid Fallacy 142
Resolutions of Secundum Quid Fallacies 144
Secundum Quid As a Fallacy outside of Language:
Aristotle’s Position 145
Problems with Aristotle’s Position 148
Conclusion 150
Chapter 9: Many Questions 153
Introduction 153