Single Idea 12092

[catalogued under 9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 14. Knowledge of Essences]

Full Idea

Aristotle could have claimed that the universal is prior to the individual in the epistemic realm, but the individual is prior in the realm of being. ...Instead, he claims that the individual is epistemologically prior to the universal.

Gist of Idea

Aristotle claims that the individual is epistemologically prior to the universal

Source

report of Aristotle (Metaphysics [c.324 BCE], partic) by Charlotte Witt - Substance and Essence in Aristotle 5.1

Book Reference

Witt,Charlotte: 'Substance and Essence in Aristotle' [Cornell 1994], p.154


A Reaction

This point strikes me as fairly self-evident. We only learn about the universal by induction from the individuals.