亚里士多德论复合实体的定义——从自然哲学著作出发

Aristotle on the Definition of Composite Substance:From the Works of Natural Philosophy

亚里士多德是继苏格拉底和柏拉图之后对古希腊定义理论贡献最大的哲学家之一,他不仅在逻辑学著作中详细讨论了针对一般性概念的"属加种差"这一分类法定义,还在《形而上学》中讨论实体时提出质形复合定义。然而,后一种定义方式在传统中被认为只是前一种定义方式的扩展和深化,而非针对不同对象的全新的定义方式。因此很有必要联系《物理学》《论动物的部分》《论天》等自然哲学著作中的质料和形式分别具有必然性和目的性特征的理论来说明,二者都不可或缺,复合物定义中不能只有形式,还要有质料,这确是一种全新的不同于"属加种差"的定义方式。

Aristotle is one of the philosophers who give the greatest contribution to theory of definition in Greek after Socrates and Plato.He not only discusses in detail the definition of genus plus differentiae about the concept in general in the logic works,but also discusses another kind of definition composed of matter and form about substances in Metaphysics.However,the second one in the traditional thought is just the extension and deepening of the former,rather than a kind of new one for different objects.In the natural philosophy works,such as Physics,Parts of Animals,On the Heavens,etc.,Aristotle explains the composite of matter and form from the perspective of the necessity and the end respectively.In the definition of composite,there must be matter except form,both are indispensable.So it is necessary to explain the second kind of definition together with natural philosophical works.That’s definitely a new definition different from the one of genus plus differentiae.