友情提示:如果本网页打开太慢或显示不完整,请尝试鼠标右键“刷新”本网页!
合租小说网 返回本书目录 加入书签 我的书架 我的书签 TXT全本下载 『收藏到我的浏览器』

on sophistical refutations-第2部分

快捷操作: 按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页 按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页 按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部! 如果本书没有阅读完,想下次继续接着阅读,可使用上方 "收藏到我的浏览器" 功能 和 "加入书签" 功能!




then it means that he has the power to write and not to write at once;



whereas if one does not combine them; it means that when he is not



writing he has the power to write。 Also; 'He now if he has learnt



his letters'。 Moreover; there is the saying that 'One single thing



if you can carry a crowd you can carry too'。



  Upon division depend the propositions that 5 is 2 and 3; and odd;



and that the greater is equal: for it is that amount and more besides。



For the same phrase would not be thought always to have the same



meaning when divided and when combined; e。g。 'I made thee a slave once



a free man'; and 'God…like Achilles left fifty a hundred men'。



  An argument depending upon accent it is not easy to construct in



unwritten discussion; in written discussions and in poetry it is



easier。 Thus (e。g。) some people emend Homer against those who



criticize as unnatural his expression to men ou kataputhetai



ombro。 For they solve the difficulty by a change of accent;



pronouncing the ou with an acuter accent。 Also; in the passage



about Agamemnon's dream; they say that Zeus did not himself say 'We



grant him the fulfilment of his prayer'; but that he bade the dream



grant it。 Instances such as these; then; turn upon the accentuation。



  Others come about owing to the form of expression used; when what is



really different is expressed in the same form; e。g。 a masculine thing



by a feminine termination; or a feminine thing by a masculine; or a



neuter by either a masculine or a feminine; or; again; when a



quality is expressed by a termination proper to quantity or vice



versa; or what is active by a passive word; or a state by an active



word; and so forth with the other divisions previously' laid down。 For



it is possible to use an expression to denote what does not belong



to the class of actions at all as though it did so belong。 Thus (e。g。)



'flourishing' is a word which in the form of its expression is like



'cutting' or 'building': yet the one denotes a certain quality…i。e。



a certain condition…while the other denotes a certain action。 In the



same manner also in the other instances。



  Refutations; then; that depend upon language are drawn from these



common…place rules。 Of fallacies; on the other hand; that are



independent of language there are seven kinds:



  (1) that which depends upon Accident:



  (2) the use of an expression absolutely or not absolutely but with



some qualification of respect or place; or time; or relation:



  (3) that which depends upon ignorance of what 'refutation' is:



  (4) that which depends upon the consequent:



  (5) that which depends upon assuming the original conclusion:



  (6) stating as cause what is not the cause:



  (7) the making of more than one question into one。







                                 5







  Fallacies; then; that depend on Accident occur whenever any



attribute is claimed to belong in like manner to a thing and to its



accident。 For since the same thing has many accidents there is no



necessity that all the same attributes should belong to all of a



thing's predicates and to their subject as well。 Thus (e。g。); 'If



Coriscus be different from 〃man〃; he is different from himself: for he



is a man': or 'If he be different from Socrates; and Socrates be a



man; then'; they say; 'he has admitted that Coriscus is different from



a man; because it so happens (accidit) that the person from whom he



said that he (Coriscus) is different is a man'。



  Those that depend on whether an expression is used absolutely or



in a certain respect and not strictly; occur whenever an expression



used in a particular sense is taken as though it were used absolutely;



e。g。 in the argument 'If what is not is the object of an opinion; then



what is not is': for it is not the same thing 'to be x' and 'to be'



absolutely。 Or again; 'What is; is not; if it is not a particular kind



of being; e。g。 if it is not a man。' For it is not the same thing



'not to be x' and 'not to be' at all: it looks as if it were;



because of the closeness of the expression; i。e。 because 'to be x'



is but little different from 'to be'; and 'not to be x' from 'not to



be'。 Likewise also with any argument that turns upon the point whether



an expression is used in a certain respect or used absolutely。 Thus



e。g。 'Suppose an Indian to be black all over; but white in respect



of his teeth; then he is both white and not white。' Or if both



characters belong in a particular respect; then; they say; 'contrary



attributes belong at the same time'。 This kind of thing is in some



cases easily seen by any one; e。g。 suppose a man were to secure the



statement that the Ethiopian is black; and were then to ask whether he



is white in respect of his teeth; and then; if he be white in that



respect; were to suppose at the conclusion of his questions that



therefore he had proved dialectically that he was both white and not



white。 But in some cases it often passes undetected; viz。 in all cases



where; whenever a statement is made of something in a certain respect;



it would be generally thought that the absolute statement follows as



well; and also in all cases where it is not easy to see which of the



attributes ought to be rendered strictly。 A situation of this kind



arises; where both the opposite attributes belong alike: for then



there is general support for the view that one must agree absolutely



to the assertion of both; or of neither: e。g。 if a thing is half white



and half black; is it white or black?



  Other fallacies occur because the terms 'proof' or 'refutation' have



not been defined; and because something is left out in their



definition。 For to refute is to contradict one and the same



attribute…not merely the name; but the reality…and a name that is



not merely synonymous but the same name…and to confute it from the



propositions granted; necessarily; without including in the



reckoning the original point to be proved; in the same respect and



relation and manner and time in which it was asserted。 A 'false



assertion' about anything has to be defined in the same way。 Some



people; however; omit some one of the said conditions and give a



merely apparent refutation; showing (e。g。) that the same thing is both



double and not double: for two is double of one; but not double of



three。 Or; it may be; they show that it is both double and not



double of the same thing; but not that it is so in the same respect:



for it is double in length but not double in breadth。 Or; it may be;



they show it to be both double and not double of the same thing and in



the same respect and manner; but not that it is so at the same time:



and therefore their refutation is merely apparent。 One might; with



some violence; bring this fallacy into the group of fallacies



dependent on language as well。



  Those that depend on the assumption of the original point to be



proved; occur in the same way; and in as many ways; as it is



possible to beg the original point; they appear to refute because



men lack the power to keep their eyes at once upon what is the same



and what is different。



  The refutation which depends upon the consequent arises because



people suppose that the relation of consequence is convertible。 For



whenever; suppose A is; B necessarily is; they then suppose also



that if B is; A necessarily is。 This is also the source of the



deceptions that attend opinions based on sense…perception。 For



people often suppose bile to be honey because honey is attended by a



yellow colour: also; since after rain the ground is wet in



consequence; we suppose that if the ground is wet; it has been



raining; whereas that does not necessarily follow。 In rhetoric



proofs from signs are based on consequences。 For when rhetoricians



wish to show that a man is an adulterer; they take hold of some



consequence of an adulterous life; viz。 that the man is smartly



dressed; or that he is observed to wander about at night。 There are;



however; many people of whom these things are true; while the charge



in question is untrue。 It happens like this also in real reasoning;



e。g。 Melissus' argument; that the universe is eternal; assumes that



the universe has not come to be (for from what is not nothing could



possibly come to be) and that what has come to be has done so from a



first beginning。 If; therefore; the universe has not come to be; it



has no first beginning; and is therefore eternal。 But this does not



necessarily follow: for even if what has come to be always has a first



beginning; it does not also follow that what has a first beginning has



come to be; any more than it follows that if a man in a fever be



hot; a man who is hot must be in a fever。



  The refutation which depends upon treating as cause what is not a



cause; occurs whenever what is not a cause is inserted in the



argument; as though the refutation depended upon it。 This kind of



thing happens in arguments that reason ad impossible: for in these



we are bound to demolish one of the premisses。 If; then; the false



cause be reckoned in among the questions that are necessary to



establish the resulting impossibility; it will often be thought that



the refutation depends upon it; e。g。 in the proof that the 'soul'



and 'life' are not the same: for if coming…to…be be contrary to



perishing; then a particular form of perishing will have a



particular form of coming…to…be as its contrary: now death is a



particular form of perishing and is contrary to life: life; therefore;



is a coming to…be; and to live is to come…to…be。 But this is



impossible: accordingly; the 'soul' and 'life' are not the same。 Now



this is not proved: for the impossibility results all the same; even



if one does not say that life is the sa
返回目录 上一页 下一页 回到顶部 0 0
快捷操作: 按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页 按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页 按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部!
温馨提示: 温看小说的同时发表评论,说出自己的看法和其它小伙伴们分享也不错哦!发表书评还可以获得积分和经验奖励,认真写原创书评 被采纳为精评可以获得大量金币、积分和经验奖励哦!