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第20章

  WEareseekingtheprinciplesandthecausesofthethingsthat
  are,andobviouslyofthemquabeing。For,whilethereisacauseof
  healthandofgoodcondition,andtheobjectsofmathematicshave
  firstprinciplesandelementsandcauses,andingeneraleveryscience
  whichisratiocinativeoratallinvolvesreasoningdealswith
  causesandprinciples,moreorlessprecise,allthesesciencesmark
  offsomeparticularbeing-somegenus,andinquireintothis,butnot
  intobeingsimplynorquabeing,nordotheyofferanydiscussionof
  theessenceofthethingsofwhichtheytreat;butstartingfromthe
  essence-somemakingitplaintothesenses,othersassumingitasa
  hypothesis-theythendemonstrate,moreorlesscogently,theessential
  attributesofthegenuswithwhichtheydeal。Itisobvious,
  therefore,thatsuchaninductionyieldsnodemonstrationofsubstance
  oroftheessence,butsomeotherwayofexhibitingit。And
  similarlythesciencesomitthequestionwhetherthegenuswith
  whichtheydealexistsordoesnotexist,becauseitbelongstothe
  samekindofthinkingtoshowwhatitisandthatitis。
  Andsincenaturalscience,likeothersciences,isinfactabout
  oneclassofbeing,i。e。tothatsortofsubstancewhichhasthe
  principleofitsmovementandrestpresentinitself,evidentlyit
  isneitherpracticalnorproductive。Forinthecaseofthingsmade
  theprincipleisinthemaker-itiseitherreasonorartorsome
  faculty,whileinthecaseofthingsdoneitisinthedoer-viz。will,
  forthatwhichisdoneandthatwhichiswilledarethesame。
  Therefore,ifallthoughtiseitherpracticalorproductiveor
  theoretical,physicsmustbeatheoreticalscience,butitwill
  theorizeaboutsuchbeingasadmitsofbeingmoved,andabout
  substance-as-definedforthemostpartonlyasnotseparablefrom
  matter。Now,wemustnotfailtonoticethemodeofbeingofthe
  essenceandofitsdefinition,for,withoutthis,inquiryisbutidle。
  Ofthingsdefined,i。e。of’whats’,somearelike’snub’,andsome
  like’concave’。Andthesedifferbecause’snub’isboundupwith
  matterforwhatissnubisaconcavenose,whileconcavityis
  independentofperceptiblematter。Ifthenallnaturalthingsarea
  analogoustothesnubintheirnature;e。g。nose,eye,face,flesh,
  bone,and,ingeneral,animal;leaf,root,bark,and,ingeneral,
  plantfornoneofthesecanbedefinedwithoutreferenceto
  movement-theyalwayshavematter,itisclearhowwemustseekand
  definethe’what’inthecaseofnaturalobjects,andalsothatit
  belongstothestudentofnaturetostudyevensoulinacertain
  sense,i。e。somuchofitasisnotindependentofmatter。
  Thatphysics,then,isatheoreticalscience,isplainfrom
  theseconsiderations。Mathematicsalso,however,istheoretical;but
  whetheritsobjectsareimmovableandseparablefrommatter,isnotat
  presentclear;still,itisclearthatsomemathematicaltheorems
  considerthemquaimmovableandquaseparablefrommatter。Butif
  thereissomethingwhichiseternalandimmovableandseparable,
  clearlytheknowledgeofitbelongstoatheoreticalscience,-not,
  however,tophysicsforphysicsdealswithcertainmovablethings
  nortomathematics,buttoasciencepriortoboth。Forphysics
  dealswiththingswhichexistseparatelybutarenotimmovable,and
  somepartsofmathematicsdealwiththingswhichareimmovablebut
  presumablydonotexistseparately,butasembodiedinmatter;while
  thefirstsciencedealswiththingswhichbothexistseparatelyand
  areimmovable。Nowallcausesmustbeeternal,butespeciallythese;
  fortheyarethecausesthatoperateonsomuchofthedivineas
  appearstous。Theremust,then,bethreetheoreticalphilosophies,
  mathematics,physics,andwhatwemaycalltheology,sinceitis
  obviousthatifthedivineispresentanywhere,itispresentin
  thingsofthissort。Andthehighestsciencemustdealwiththe
  highestgenus。Thus,whilethetheoreticalsciencesaremoretobe
  desiredthantheothersciences,thisismoretobedesiredthanthe
  othertheoreticalsciences。Foronemightraisethequestionwhether
  firstphilosophyisuniversal,ordealswithonegenus,i。e。some
  onekindofbeing;fornoteventhemathematicalsciencesareall
  alikeinthisrespect,-geometryandastronomydealwithacertain
  particularkindofthing,whileuniversalmathematicsappliesaliketo
  all。Weanswerthatifthereisnosubstanceotherthanthosewhich
  areformedbynature,naturalsciencewillbethefirstscience;but
  ifthereisanimmovablesubstance,thescienceofthismustbe
  priorandmustbefirstphilosophy,anduniversalinthisway,because
  itisfirst。Anditwillbelongtothistoconsiderbeingqua
  being-bothwhatitisandtheattributeswhichbelongtoitquabeing。
  Butsincetheunqualifiedterm’being’hasseveralmeanings,of
  whichonewasseen’tobetheaccidental,andanotherthetrue
  ’non-being’beingthefalse,whilebesidesthesetherearethe
  figuresofpredicatione。g。the’what’,quality,quantity,place,
  time,andanysimilarmeaningswhich’being’mayhave,andagain
  besidesallthesethereisthatwhich’is’potentiallyor
  actually:-since’being’hasmanymeanings,wemustsayregardingthe
  accidental,thattherecanbenoscientifictreatmentofit。Thisis
  confirmedbythefactthatnosciencepractical,productive,or
  theoreticaltroublesitselfaboutit。Forontheonehandhewho
  producesahousedoesnotproducealltheattributesthatcomeinto
  beingalongwiththehouse;fortheseareinnumerable;thehouse
  thathasbeenmademayquitewellbepleasantforsomepeople,hurtful
  forsome,andusefultoothers,anddifferent-toputitshortlyfrom
  allthingsthatare;andthescienceofbuildingdoesnotaimat
  producinganyoftheseattributes。Andinthesamewaythegeometer
  doesnotconsidertheattributeswhichattachthustofigures,nor
  whether’triangle’isdifferentfrom’trianglewhoseanglesare
  equaltotworightangles’-Andthishappensnaturallyenough;forthe
  accidentalispracticallyamerename。AndsoPlatowasinasensenot
  wronginrankingsophisticasdealingwiththatwhichisnot。For
  theargumentsofthesophistsdeal,wemaysay,aboveallwiththe
  accidental;e。g。thequestionwhether’musical’and’lettered’are
  differentorthesame,andwhether’musicalCoriscus’and’Coriscus’
  arethesame,andwhether’everythingwhichis,butisnoteternal,
  hascometobe’,withtheparadoxicalconclusionthatifonewhowas
  musicalhascometobelettered,hemustalsohavebeenletteredand
  havecometobemusical,andalltheotherargumentsofthissort;the
  accidentalisobviouslyakintonon-being。Andthisisclearalsofrom
  argumentssuchasthefollowing:thingswhichareinanothersense
  comeintobeingandpassoutofbeingbyaprocess,butthingswhich
  areaccidentallydonot。Butstillwemust,asfaraswecan,say
  further,regardingtheaccidental,whatitsnatureisandfromwhat
  causeitproceeds;foritwillperhapsatthesametimebecomeclear
  whythereisnoscienceofit。
  Since,amongthingswhichare,somearealwaysinthesamestate
  andareofnecessitynotnecessityinthesenseofcompulsionbut
  thatwhichweassertofthingsbecausetheycannotbeotherwise,
  andsomearenotofnecessitynoralways,butforthemostpart,
  thisistheprincipleandthisthecauseoftheexistenceofthe
  accidental;forthatwhichisneitheralwaysnorforthemostpart,we
  callaccidental。Forinstance,ifinthedog-daysthereiswintry
  andcoldweather,wesaythisisanaccident,butnotifthereis
  sultryheat,becausethelatterisalwaysorforthemostpartso,but
  nottheformer。Anditisanaccidentthatamanispaleforthis
  isneitheralwaysnorforthemostpartso,butitisnotbyaccident
  thatheisananimal。Andthatthebuilderproduceshealthisan
  accident,becauseitisthenaturenotofthebuilderbutofthe
  doctortodothis,-butthebuilderhappenedtobeadoctor。Again,a
  confectioner,aimingatgivingpleasure,maymakesomethingwholesome,
  butnotinvirtueoftheconfectioner’sart;andthereforewesay
  ’itwasanaccident’,andwhilethereisasenseinwhichhemakesit,
  intheunqualifiedsensehedoesnot。Fortootherthingsanswer
  facultiesproductiveofthem,buttoaccidentalresultsthere
  correspondsnodeterminateartnorfaculty;forofthingswhichareor
  cometobebyaccident,thecausealsoisaccidental。Therefore,since
  notallthingseitherareorcometobeofnecessityandalways,
  but,themajorityofthingsareforthemostpart,theaccidentalmust
  exist;forinstanceapalemanisnotalwaysnorforthemostpart
  musical,butsincethissometimeshappens,itmustbeaccidentalif
  not,everythingwillbeofnecessity。Thematter,therefore,whichis
  capableofbeingotherwisethanasitusuallyis,mustbethecauseof
  theaccidental。Andwemusttakeasourstarting-pointthequestion
  whetherthereisnothingthatisneitheralwaysnorforthemostpart。
  Surelythisisimpossible。Thereis,then,besidesthesesomething
  whichisfortuitousandaccidental。Butwhiletheusualexists,can
  nothingbesaidtobealways,orarethereeternalthings?Thismust
  beconsideredlater,’butthatthereisnoscienceoftheaccidental
  isobvious;forallscienceiseitherofthatwhichisalwaysorof
  thatwhichisforthemostpart。Forhowelseisonetolearnorto
  teachanother?Thethingmustbedeterminedasoccurringeitheralways
  orforthemostpart,e。g。thathoney-waterisusefulforapatientin
  afeveristrueforthemostpart。Butthatwhichiscontraryto
  theusuallawsciencewillbeunabletostate,i。e。whenthething
  doesnothappen,e。g。’onthedayofnewmoon’;foreventhatwhich
  happensonthedayofnewmoonhappenstheneitheralwaysorforthe
  mostpart;buttheaccidentaliscontrarytosuchlaws。Wehave
  stated,then,whattheaccidentalis,andfromwhatcauseitarises,
  andthatthereisnosciencewhichdealswithit
  Thatthereareprinciplesandcauseswhicharegenerableand
  destructiblewithouteverbeingincourseofbeinggeneratedor
  destroyed,isobvious。Forotherwiseallthingswillbeof
  necessity,sincethatwhichisbeinggeneratedordestroyedmust
  haveacausewhichisnotaccidentallyitscause。WillAexistornot?
  ItwillifBhappens;andifnot,not。AndBwillexistifC
  happens。Andthusiftimeisconstantlysubtractedfromalimited
  extentoftime,onewillobviouslycometothepresent。Thisman,
  then,willdiebyviolence,ifhegoesout;andhewilldothisif
  hegetsthirsty;andhewillgetthirstyifsomethingelsehappens;
  andthusweshallcometothatwhichisnowpresent,ortosomepast
  event。Forinstance,hewillgooutifhegetsthirsty;andhewill
  getthirstyifheiseatingpungentfood;andthisiseitherthe
  caseornot;sothathewillofnecessitydie,orofnecessitynot
  die。Andsimilarlyifonejumpsovertopastevents,thesame
  accountwillholdgood;forthis-Imeanthepastcondition-is
  alreadypresentinsomething。Everything,therefore,thatwillbe,
  willbeofnecessity;e。g。itisnecessarythathewholivesshallone
  daydie;foralreadysomeconditionhascomeintoexistence,e。g。
  thepresenceofcontrariesinthesamebody。Butwhetherheisto
  diebydiseaseorbyviolenceisnotyetdetermined,butdependson
  thehappeningofsomethingelse。Clearlythentheprocessgoesbackto
  acertainstarting-point,butthisnolongerpointstosomething
  further。Thisthenwillbethestarting-pointforthefortuitous,
  andwillhavenothingelseascauseofitscomingtobe。Buttowhat
  sortofstarting-pointandwhatsortofcausewethusreferthe
  fortuitous-whethertomatterortothepurposeortothemotivepower,
  mustbecarefullyconsidered。
  Letusdismissaccidentalbeing;forwehavesufficiently
  determineditsnature。Butsincethatwhichisinthesenseofbeing
  true,orisnotinthesenseofbeingfalse,dependsoncombination
  andseparation,andtruthandfalsitytogetherdependonthe
  allocationofapairofcontradictoryjudgementsforthetrue
  judgementaffirmswherethesubjectandpredicatereallyarecombined,
  anddenieswheretheyareseparated,whilethefalsejudgementhasthe
  oppositeofthisallocation;itisanotherquestion,howithappens
  thatwethinkthingstogetherorapart;by’together’and’apart’I
  meanthinkingthemsothatthereisnosuccessioninthethoughts
  buttheybecomeaunity;forfalsityandtrutharenotinthings-it
  isnotasifthegoodweretrue,andthebadwereinitself
  false-butinthought;whilewithregardtosimpleconceptsand’whats’
  falsityandtruthdonotexisteveninthought——thisbeingso,wemust
  considerlaterwhathastobediscussedwithregardtothatwhichis
  orisnotinthissense。Butsincethecombinationandthe
  separationareinthoughtandnotinthethings,andthatwhichis
  inthissenseisadifferentsortof’being’fromthethingsthat
  areinthefullsenseforthethoughtattachesorremoveseither
  thesubject’s’what’oritshavingacertainqualityorquantityor
  somethingelse,thatwhichisaccidentallyandthatwhichisinthe
  senseofbeingtruemustbedismissed。Forthecauseoftheformer
  isindeterminate,andthatofthelatterissomeaffectionofthe
  thought,andbotharerelatedtotheremaininggenusofbeing,and
  donotindicatetheexistenceofanyseparateclassofbeing。
  Thereforeletthesebedismissed,andletusconsiderthecausesand
  theprinciplesofbeingitself,quabeing。Itwasclearinour
  discussionofthevariousmeaningsofterms,that’being’has
  severalmeanings。