Aristotle
Hackett Publishing Company
2022
0. Introduction
Aristotle is
“the master of those who know”
(as Dante put it).
This was his way of saying:
compared to him, we’re all hacks.
1. Early Intimations
De Interpretatione 4.17a3-4
Prayer is a sentence
that is neither true nor false
(it is something else).
So, truth or falsity is
not found in every sentence.
De Interpretatione 13.23a23-24
The activities
sans potentialities
are very unique.
They are designated as
the primary substances.
Prior Analytics 1.36.48b35-37
The opportune time
for a god is opportune,
but is not needed.
This is because for a god
nothing is ever needed.
Topics 1.11.105a5-7
Those who so puzzle
over whether snow is white
lack clear perception.
Those who so puzzle over
honoring a god must pay.
Topics 2.2.109b33-35
Since a god cannot
be harmed, he also cannot
suffer injustice.
This truth is found by asking
"What is doing injustice?"
Topics 2.11.115b30-35
All will say with no
exception that honoring
a god is noble.
But some will say it’s noble
to sacrifice one’s father.
Topics 4.5.126a34-b1
A god and a good
person are both capable
of doing base things.
But they are unlike the base
because they do not choose them.
Topics 5.1.128b19-20
A man is only
a rational animal
(brighter than the brutes).
A god is an animal
too, but an immortal one.
Topics 5.4.132b10-11
What can truly be
said of a god that also
can be said of men?
They share in scientific
knowledge as living beings.
Topics 5.6.136b6-7
Since all living things
are perceptible, this is
not a special thing.
So, being intelligent
is not special for a god.
2. The Immovable Mover
Physics 8.1.251a8-252a5
We say that movement
is the activation of
what is movable.
For each movement, there are things
that are capable of it.
Physics 8.4.255b31-256a3
All things that are in
movement, are moved by something
and not by nothing.
They are moved by nature or
not by nature but by force.
