Metaphysics Midterm Study Guide

Things Said with Combination

Full sentences that join words to express clear ideas, like 'The man runs.' They usually have a subject and a verb, and can include extra parts for more detail.

Things Said without Combination

Single words or short phrases that convey ideas on their own, like 'Man' for a male person or 'Run' for an action.

Subjects and Predication

Subjects are the main part of a sentence, telling us who or what it is about. Predication shows what the subject does or is like, using a verb. For example, in 'The dog barks,' 'The dog' is the subject and 'barks' is the action.

Predication and Hierarchies

The relationship between subjects and the qualities or actions attributed to them in structured forms of thought. It often involves establishing levels of categories or classes based on how subjects relate to one another.

categories of being - substance

individual things (ex: man, horse, cat)

categories of being - quantity

how much or how man (ex: 2 feet long, 4 of them)

categories of being - quality

characteristics/features (ex: white, grammatical, clever)

categories of being - relation

how things RELATE/compare to each other (ex: something is larger than something else)

categories of being - place

where something is (ex: in the chapel, in italy)

categories of being - time

when something occurs (ex: last year, at noon, in the evening)

categories of being - position

arrangement/posture (ex: sitting, on the wall, lying down)

categories of being - possession

what someone has (ex: she has a watch, he is wearing shoes)

categories of being - action

what someone does (ex: cutting [something], shitting)

categories of being - affection

something that is happening to someone but not defining that person (ex: being burnt, getting pushed)

Primary substance

things that exist on their own (ex: cat, man (singular person), horse, toy car)

Secondary substance

things that belong to specific species/genus (ex: man is a species saying hannah is a man is saying she belongs to human race group; another example is saying that a cat is an animal)

Predication rules

if something is being described (ex: saying a cat is fluffy, the human is stiff) then it must be an accurate description of the appearance (predication = description of things)

if something exists WITHIN a subject like a characteristic it does not always have to match (ex: a white cat does not always have to be white bc it can roll in mud, a human does not always have to be happy bc they can become sad or mad)

Nature of Substances

primary substance (man, toy car, a black cat) is a base, everything ELSE (secondary substances) describes the primary substance.

EVERY substance (man, car, cat, etc) is UNIQUE meaning its trait does not define it as a whole (ex: just bc someone has an RBF does not mean they are a mean person, or just bc a cat is fluffy does not mean its entire personality is a fluffy cat)

What is the significance of Aristotle’s categories?

It explains what exists in the world and how it exists in the world (their role)

what is the difference between primary and secondary substance?

Primary substance is an individual thing/person, a secondary substance describes individuals into groups (ex: men, animals, the man is white)

How does Aristotle differentiate between things "said of" and "in" a subject?

Things "said of" a subject (e.g., "Man" said of an individual man) can have both their name and definition predicated of the subject. Things "in" a subject (e.g., "White" in a body) usually do not have their definition predicated of the subject, although their name sometimes can be.

1. What role do species and genera play in defining substance?

• Species and genera are secondary substances that provide a framework for identifying primary substances. The species is more informative than the genus because it is more specific (e.g., "Man" is more defining of an individual man than "Animal").

what is a particular

individual (ex: table, cat, toy car)

what are properties

traits/characteristics that describe something (particular)

ex: brown, rough, white, smooth, fast

What is numerical sameness?

despite changing properties (color, size, texture) the identity of something remains the same

ex: a table can be black, white, brown, big, small, 3 legs, four legs, but at the end of they day, it is still a TABLE

What is qualitative change?

Differences in properties over time (ex: green leaves turning brown or a tree losing its leaves in autumn and growing new ones in spring.)

What is the substratum view

an object (particular) has an underlying entity (substratum) that holds ALL properties together

ex: a pin cushion (substratum) holds pins (properties)

What is the issue of the substratum view?

if we take away all the properties, what is left? (is nothing left or will a substratum exist?)

What is the bundle theory

an object (particular) is nothing more than a BUNDLE of properties

Why is the bundle theory preferred over the substratum theory?

Bundle theory is LESS complex and does not suggest a HIDDEN identity

What is an issue with the bundle theory?

Cannot differentiate between identical objects (things with the exact same properties)

• How does the distinction between qualitative and numerical sameness help explain the persistence of objects through change?

• • Numerical sameness means an object remains the same despite changes, while qualitative change means its properties can differ over time.

What is ontology

what kind’s of things exist

predication

what we say about things that exist in the world

subject

what something/statement is about

predicate

the statement that describes the subject (what is said about the subject)

Types of predication - Essential

describes what something is (its essence)

ex: socrates is a human

types of predication - accidental

describes traits that are NOT essential

ex: socrates is wise, beautiful, cool

universals vs particulars: universals

something that applies to many things

ex: man, white

universals vs particulars: particulars

specific incidences

ex: Socrates, this kind of white

Aristotle vs Plato - Plato

Believed that universals, or Forms, represent the ultimate reality, with particular instances relying on these Forms.

He thought that big ideas, like "goodness" or "beauty," are the most real and important. Little things, like flowers or toys, are just examples of these big ideas.

Aristotle vs Plato - Aristotle

Argued that individual substances, such as Socrates, are the most fundamental reality, while universals serve merely as categories for classification.

He believed that real things, like people and animals, are what matter most. The big ideas are just ways to help us understand the real things better.