Aristotle's First Principles

Contents......Page 10
Abbreviations......Page 18
I: THE EMERGENCE OF THE PROBLEM......Page 20
1. First principles......Page 22
2. Realism......Page 24
3. Dialectic and philosophy......Page 26
4. Puzzles about dialectic......Page 27
5. Aristotle\'s development......Page 30
6. Aristotle\'s conception of philosophy......Page 33
7. The emergence of the problem......Page 34
8. Solutions to the problem......Page 37
9. Applications of the solution......Page 40
10. Aims of inquiry......Page 45
11. The study of method......Page 46
12. Ways to first principles......Page 48
13. Empirical starting-points......Page 49
14. The accumulation of data......Page 50
15. Induction......Page 51
16. The evaluation of theories......Page 52
17. Conclusions on Aristotle\'s empirical method......Page 54
18. The functions of dialectic......Page 55
19. The starting-point of dialectic......Page 56
20. Dialectical puzzles......Page 59
21. Dialectical puzzles and the aims of dialectic......Page 61
22. The construction of a theory......Page 62
23. The evaluation of dialectical theories......Page 64
24. The special role of dialectic......Page 67
25. Questions about dialectic......Page 68
26. Positive functions for dialectic......Page 70
27. The nature of the categories......Page 71
28. Substance and the categories......Page 74
29. Inherence and strong predication......Page 76
30. Substance and quality......Page 77
31. Substance and change......Page 78
32. Substance and essential properties......Page 80
33. The anomaly of differentiae......Page 83
34. The dialectical search for first principles......Page 85
35. The role of dialectic......Page 86
36. The defence of first principles......Page 88
37. General features of change......Page 89
38. Substances and subjects......Page 92
39. Basic subjects......Page 95
40. Matter......Page 96
41. Universals......Page 97
42. The dependent status of universals......Page 99
43. The independence of first substances......Page 101
44. Weaknesses of dialectic......Page 102
45. Principles of change......Page 103
46. Puzzles about unqualified becoming......Page 106
47. Matter as substance......Page 107
48. Form as substance......Page 108
49. Resulting difficulties......Page 110
50. Nature and cause......Page 113
51. The four causes......Page 114
52. Causes and first principles......Page 116
53. Form and matter as causes......Page 118
54. Further difficulties about form......Page 119
55. Disputes about teleology......Page 121
56. The difference between final causation and coincidence......Page 123
57. The arguments for teleology......Page 124
58. The basis of the argument for teleology......Page 127
59. Teleology and necessity......Page 128
60. Teleology and substance......Page 131
61. Further developments......Page 133
62. Science and justification......Page 136
63. Science and universals......Page 137
64. Explanatory properties and basic subjects......Page 139
65. Explanatory properties and the arguments about substance......Page 140
66. Natural priority in demonstration......Page 141
67. Natural priority compared with epistemic priority......Page 143
68. The case for circular demonstration......Page 144
69. The rejection of coherence as a source of justification......Page 146
70. The rejection of an infinite regress......Page 148
71. Foundationalism......Page 149
72. The status of first principles......Page 150
73. Intuition......Page 153
74. The doctrine of intuition......Page 154
75. Intuition and inquiry......Page 155
76. Dialectic and justification......Page 156
77. Criticisms of dialectic......Page 158
78. Objections to Aristotle\'s solution......Page 160
79. Intuition and the common principles......Page 162
80. Difficulties in Aristotle\'s position......Page 164
81. Consequences of Aristotle\'s position......Page 166
82. The unsolved puzzles......Page 167
II: SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEM......Page 170
83. The aims of metaphysics......Page 172
84. Wisdom and scepticism......Page 174
85. Universal science and the four causes......Page 176
86. The character of universal science......Page 178
87. Puzzles about universal science......Page 180
88. Methodological puzzles......Page 181
89. Substantive puzzles......Page 182
90. Puzzles and preliminary questions......Page 185
91. The possibility of a universal science......Page 187
92. The object of universal science......Page 189
93. The universal science contrasted with demonstrative science......Page 191
94. The universal science contrasted with dialectic......Page 193
95. The dialectical character of universal science......Page 194
96. The task of the universal science......Page 196
97. Arguments of universal science......Page 198
98. The defence of the principle of non-contradiction......Page 200
99. From non-contradiction to essence and substance......Page 202
100. The dialectical character of the argument......Page 204
101. The status of the conclusion......Page 206
102. Protagoras and the science of being......Page 208
103. The reply to Protagoras......Page 209
104. Scepticism and the science of being......Page 211
105. The reply to scepticism......Page 213
106. The knowledge of first principles......Page 215
107. From being to substance......Page 218
108. The priority of substance......Page 219
109. Criteria for substance......Page 221
110. Substance as subject......Page 223
111. Strategy......Page 225
112. Subject as matter......Page 226
113. Further tests for substance......Page 229
114. Essence and subject......Page 230
115. A revised criterion for substance......Page 232
116. A preliminary solution of the puzzles......Page 235
117. Essence as particular......Page 236
118. Essence as subject......Page 238
119. The progress of the argument......Page 239
120. Substance and potentiality......Page 242
121. Substance and actuality......Page 244
122. Potentiality......Page 245
123. Potentiality and possibility......Page 246
124. Degrees of potentiality......Page 249
125. Proximate potentiality......Page 250
126. Conditions for potentiality......Page 252
127. Potentiality without change......Page 254
128. Form as actuality......Page 256
129. Form and matter in definitions......Page 257
130. Formal and material essences......Page 258
131. Types of matter......Page 260
132. Types of compounds......Page 262
133. The essence of natural substances......Page 264
134. Particulars as forms and compounds......Page 267
135. Particular forms as substances......Page 269
136. The nature of particular forms......Page 271
137. The role of particular forms......Page 272
138. Particular forms and the criteria for substance......Page 274
139. Particular forms as primary substances......Page 276
140. Objections to universals as substances......Page 278
141. The case for universal substances......Page 280
142. The status of particular substances......Page 282
143. The difference between universals and properties......Page 283
144. Particulars and universals as substances......Page 284
145. The primacy of particular substances......Page 287
146. Results of the Metaphysics......Page 289
147. The role of a priori and empirical argument......Page 290
148. First philosophy and strong dialectic......Page 293
III: APPLICATIONS OF THE SOLUTION......Page 296
149. Aristotle\'s task......Page 298
150. Puzzles about the soul......Page 299
151. The solution......Page 301
152. The relation of soul to body......Page 303
153. Answers to puzzles......Page 305
154. The contribution of first philosophy......Page 307
155. Dualism......Page 309
156. Materialism......Page 312
157. Empirical argument, dialectic, and first philosophy......Page 315
158. Soul and mind......Page 318
159. Perception as a state of the soul......Page 322
160. Perception as process and activity......Page 324
161. The accounts of perception......Page 326
162. Form and matter in perception......Page 329
163. Realism about perceptible qualities......Page 330
164. The rejection of realism......Page 332
165. The infallibility of the senses......Page 333
166. Complex perception......Page 334
167. Appearance......Page 337
168. Appearance and thought......Page 338
169. Thought......Page 339
170. Thought and inference......Page 341
171. Thought, content, and structure......Page 342
172. The cognitive faculties......Page 344
173. Desire and perception......Page 348
174. The unity of desire......Page 349
175. Desire and apparent good......Page 351
176. Reason and desire......Page 352
177. Rational desires......Page 353
178. The scope of deliberation......Page 354
179. Rational agency and the good......Page 355
180. The temporal aspects of rational agency......Page 357
181. Rational agency and responsibility......Page 359
182. Aspects of responsibility......Page 361
183. The form of human beings......Page 363
184. Moral and political argument......Page 366
185. The content of ethics......Page 368
186. The direction of moral argument......Page 370
187. Tasks for the Politics......Page 371
188. The aims of the Politics......Page 373
189. Difficulties in political argument......Page 375
190. Strong dialectic in political theory......Page 377
191. The final good......Page 378
192. The completeness of the final good......Page 379
193. The self-sufficiency of the final good......Page 381
194. Rational agency and the human function......Page 382
195. Rational agency and human capacities......Page 385
196. Rational agency and happiness......Page 387
197. Self-realization......Page 388
198. Self-realization and human good......Page 389
199. Virtue, happiness, and nature......Page 392
200. Virtue, reason, and desire......Page 393
201. Concern for a self......Page 395
202. Self, essence, and character......Page 396
203. Self-love and self-realization......Page 398
204. Rational control and self-regarding virtues......Page 400
205. Degrees of rational control......Page 402
206. The scope of rational control......Page 404
207. The defence of common beliefs......Page 406
208. Altruism and the moral virtues......Page 408
209. Friendship and altruism......Page 409
210. Self-love and altruism......Page 410
211. The defence of friendship......Page 412
212. The friend as another self......Page 414
214. The extension of friendship......Page 416
215. The political community and the human good......Page 418
216. Political activity......Page 421
217. The complete community......Page 423
218. Conceptions of the state......Page 426
219. The human good and the citizen......Page 428
220. The human good and leisure......Page 430
221. Leisure as a condition of freedom......Page 432
222. Aristotle\'s misuse of his argument......Page 433
223. Moral education as a task for the state......Page 435
224. The defence of moral education......Page 437
225. The apparent conflict between freedom and moral education......Page 438
226. Aspects of freedom......Page 440
227. The reconciliation of freedom and moral education......Page 441
228. General justice......Page 443
229. The problem of special justice......Page 444
230. Conditions for just distribution......Page 446
231. Retrospective justice......Page 447
232. The relation between general and special justice......Page 449
233. Errors about justice......Page 451
234. Political systems and their errors about justice......Page 452
235. The effects of errors about justice......Page 454
236. Answers to puzzles about justice......Page 456
237. The virtues of character......Page 458
238. The particular virtues and non-rational desires......Page 460
239. The particular virtues and external goods......Page 461
240. Virtue and the loss of external goods......Page 464
241. The supremacy of virtue......Page 466
242. Vice in a political context......Page 468
243. The variety of political systems......Page 469
244. Vice and conflict......Page 470
245. Vice and aggression......Page 471
246. Vice and slavishness......Page 472
247. Instability in political systems......Page 475
248. Virtue and political stability......Page 476
249. Stability and the middle class......Page 479
250. The defence of private property......Page 481
251. Objections to the defence of private property......Page 483
252. Moral and political theory in Aristotle\'s system......Page 485
253. The evaluation of Aristotle\'s claims......Page 487
254. Aristotle\'s silences......Page 489
255. The treatment of Aristotle\'s early works......Page 491
256. The treatment of Aristotle\'s late works......Page 492
257. Strong dialectic......Page 495
258. The uses of strong dialectic......Page 496
259. Systematic philosophy in Aristotle......Page 499
260. Metaphysics, epistemology, and method......Page 501
261. Defences of Aristotle......Page 502
262. Dialectic and historical study......Page 504
Notes......Page 506
Bibliography......Page 661
Index Locorum......Page 680
C......Page 703
K......Page 704
R......Page 705
Z......Page 706
A......Page 707
C......Page 708
D......Page 709
F......Page 711
G......Page 712
I......Page 713
M......Page 714
P......Page 715
R......Page 717
S......Page 718
T......Page 719
W......Page 720