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Full Idea
One member of a pair of contraries is sufficient to discern both itself and its opposite.
Gist of Idea
From one thing alone we can infer its contrary
Source
Aristotle (De Anima [c.329 BCE], 411a02)
Book Ref
Aristotle: 'De Anima (on the psuche)', ed/tr. Reeve, C.D.C. [Hackett 2017], p.18
A Reaction
This obviously requires prior knowledge of what the opposite is. He says you can infer the crooked from the straight. You can hardly use light in isolation to infer dark [see DA 418b17]. What's the opposite of a pig?
| 192 | Only one thing can be contrary to something [Plato] |
| 1697 | The contrary of good is bad, but the contrary of bad is either good or another evil [Aristotle] |
| 1698 | Both sides of contraries need not exist (as health without sickness, white without black) [Aristotle] |
| 24052 | From one thing alone we can infer its contrary [Aristotle] |
| 4333 | Contraries are by definition as far distant as possible from one another [Aristotle] |
| 1708 | In "Callias is just/not just/unjust", which of these are contraries? [Aristotle] |
| 608 | There is no middle ground in contradiction, but there is in contrariety [Aristotle] |
| 1684 | Two falsehoods can be contrary to one another [Aristotle] |
| 16854 | Contrary pairs entail contradictions; one member entails negation of the other [Lipton] |