In a message dated 11/5/08 12:40:05 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> "like Aristotle's muddled claim that > its "properties" are what "make something BE what it IS" > > Are you sure you went to Harvard philosophy, Cheerskep? :-) > I appreciate the symbol at the end, Imago. As Wister's hero in The Virginian said, "When you say that, smile." What I had in mind is this. In Aristotle and in his commentors, you'll find numerous contradictions. There's general agreement he thought of definitions as not giving the "meaning" of words, but as describing the "essence" of a given subject. Thus allegedly his definition of, say, "moose" isn't defining the word, but is a statement of what makes a moose a moose and not a mouse. You will variously find "rationality" said to be a "property", and not a property but something like a "quality". Thus, as a property, rationality is what he claimed made an animal a man, and not a moose. ************** AOL Search: Your one stop for directions, recipes and all other Holiday needs. Search Now. (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1212792382x1200798498/aol?redir=http://searchblog.aol.com/2008/11/04/happy-holidays-from -aol-search/?ncid=emlcntussear00000001)
