Single Idea 17951

[catalogued under 2. Reason / A. Nature of Reason / 2. Logos]

Full Idea

A thing's logos, apparently short as it may be, is implicitly a very rich statement since it ultimately involves familiarity with the whole domain to which that particular object belongs.

Gist of Idea

A logos may be short, but it contains reference to the whole domain of the object

Source

Alexander Nehamas (Episteme and Logos in later Plato [1984], p.234)

Book Reference

Nehamas,Alexander: 'Virtues of Authenticity' [Princeton 1999], p.234


A Reaction

He may be wrong that the logos is short, since Aristotle (Idea 12292) says a definition can contain many assertions.

Related Ideas

Idea 17950 The logos enables us to track one particular among a network of objects [Nehamas]

Idea 12292 Definitions are easily destroyed, since they can contain very many assertions [Aristotle]