more from this thinker     |     more from this text


Single Idea 570

[filed under theme 7. Existence / A. Nature of Existence / 3. Being / g. Particular being ]

Full Idea

It is plausible that one man and a man in existence and a man simpliciter are the same thing. Nothing is added by extending the expression to 'He is one man' and 'He is one man that is'.

Gist of Idea

Nothing is added to a man's existence by saying he is 'one', or that 'he exists'

Source

Aristotle (Metaphysics [c.324 BCE], 1003b28)

Book Ref

Aristotle: 'Metaphysics', ed/tr. Lawson-Tancred,Hugh [Penguin 1998], p.82


A Reaction

A suggestion of a redundancy theory of truth.


The 16 ideas with the same theme [being as only found in substances or particulars]:

The only distinctions are Configuration (shape), Disposition (order) and Turning (position) [Democritus, by Aristotle]
If nothing exists except individuals, how can there be a science of infinity? [Aristotle]
Being must be understood with reference to one primary sense - the being of substance [Aristotle, by Gill,ML]
Nothing is added to a man's existence by saying he is 'one', or that 'he exists' [Aristotle]
The primary subject seems to be substance, to the fullest extent [Aristotle]
Existence requires thisness, as quantity or quality [Aristotle]
Other types of being all depend on the being of substance [Aristotle]
There is no being unless it is determinate and well-defined [Aristotle, by Politis]
Aristotle discusses fundamental units of being, rather than existence questions [Aristotle, by Schaffer,J]
Number determines individual being [Plotinus]
Being implies distinctness, which implies division, unity, and multitude [Aquinas]
The words 'thing' and 'to be' assert the same idea, as a noun and as a verb [William of Ockham]
What is not truly one being is not truly a being either [Leibniz]
Particularity belongs to being, whereas generality belongs to thought [Feuerbach]
The idea of a thing and the idea of existence are two sides of the same coin [Quine, by Crane]
To exist necessarily is to have an essence whose own essence must be instantiated [Jubien]