Single Idea 14266

[catalogued under 2. Reason / D. Definition / 5. Genus and Differentia]

Full Idea

For us, sets constitute the most natural example of a hierarchical structure within the abstract realm. But for Aristotle it would have been definitions, via their natural division into genus and differentia.

Gist of Idea

Aristotle sees hierarchies in definitions using genus and differentia (as we see them in sets)

Source

Kit Fine (Aristotle on Matter [1992], 1 n4)

Book Reference

-: 'Mind' [-], p.37


A Reaction

Genus and differentia are only part of the story in Aristotle, and this remarks strikes me as perceptive. It is precisely the mapping of the explanatory hierarchy which Aristotle seeks in a good definition.