52. Three Fundamental Distinctions and Common Philosophical Fallacies

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Three Fundamental Distinctions #

1. Being Simply vs. Being in a Qualified Way (Simpliciter vs. Secundum Quid)

   • Being said without qualification versus being said in a limited, qualified manner
   • Example: “If you leave this room, you will cease to be” sounds threatening but means only ceasing to be in the room, not ceasing to exist
   • When one dies, one ceases to be simply; when one leaves a room, one ceases to be in the room
   • Accidental being is being in a limited and qualified way

2. Substance vs. Accident

   • Substance: what something is in itself
   • Accident: what happens to or inheres in a substance
   • Example: A pile of lumber has the ability to be a wooden house, but is not a wooden house simply; only in ability
   • A pile of bricks is not a brick wall simply, only in ability

3. Act vs. Potentiality (Ability)

   • What is actually so versus what is only potentially so
   • The Pietà exists in a rough marble slab only in potentiality, not in actuality
   • Something in matter is in ability; something in place is actually there
   • Different senses of “being in” can be confused (e.g., “being in matter” vs. “being in place” vs. “I’ve got you in my power”)

Three Common Mistakes #

1. Equivocation: Mixing up different senses of a word (e.g., “liberal” in “liberal politician” vs. “liberal arts”)
2. Substance/Accident Confusion: Treating accidental properties as if they were essential
3. Confusing What Is Simply with What Is Only in Some Qualified Way: Drawing conclusions that ignore necessary qualifications

Key Arguments #

The Fallacy of the Unknowing Mother #

• A student claims not to know who is knocking at the door
• The door opens; it is his mother
• False argument: “You said you didn’t know who was knocking, but it’s your mother, so you don’t know your mother”
• The fallacy: confuses knowing one’s mother simply with knowing her specifically as the one knocking at the door
• Resolution: one knows one’s mother simply, but does not know her in this specific, qualified way

The Greek Philosopher’s Error Regarding Matter #

• Greek philosophers confused two senses of “being in”
• They thought: whatever comes from matter is already actually in matter
• Error: conflating “being in matter” (in potentiality) with “being in place” (in actuality)
• Resolution: the Pietà is in a marble slab only in ability until the sculptor actualizes it

Moral Choices and Apparent Good #

• People choose bad things not as bad but as appearing good
• Example: abortion is bad simply (taking an innocent human life), but appears good in a qualified way (enables career continuation, finishing education)
• The person does not desire the bad; they desire what appears good in some diminished sense
• Example: the poisoned mushroom—people ate poisonous mushrooms not desiring poison, but desiring good mushrooms; they chose the bad because it appeared good

Important Definitions #

• Simpliciter (Latin; haplos in Greek): Being or truth without qualification or limitation
• Secundum Quid (Latin): Being or truth in a limited, partial, or diminished sense
• Substance: That which exists in itself; the primary subject of predication
• Accident: That which exists in another; what inheres in or belongs to substance but is not essential to it
• Act (Actuality): What is actually realized or existing
• Potentiality (Ability): What is capable of being but not yet actually realized

Examples & Illustrations #

The Threat That Isn’t #

“If you leave this room, you will cease to be”—sounds like a death threat but only means ceasing to be in the room, not ceasing to exist entirely. The distinction makes all the difference in understanding the statement.

The Lost Keys Analogy #

Searching for lost keys by remembering where you might have left them. A “place” is where you look to find something, not necessarily where it is. Similarly, a “place” (topos) in dialectic is where you look to find an argument, though you might not actually find one there.

The Wooden House and Brick Wall #

A pile of lumber is not a wooden house simply, but only in ability. A pile of bricks is not a brick wall simply, but only in ability. Once constructed, they become actual, not merely potential.

Murder and Annoyance #

“You annoy me, so I’m going to murder you.” The murderer chooses this because removing annoyance is good, not because murder itself is good. They choose the bad because in some diminished sense it appears good.

The Poisoned Mushrooms #

Italian relatives gathered and consumed poisonous mushrooms at a feast, becoming ill. They did not desire poisonous mushrooms; they desired good mushrooms. They chose the bad because it appeared to be good.

Questions Addressed #

• How do we identify and avoid sophistic fallacies? By carefully distinguishing the senses in which terms are used and recognizing when something is said simply versus in a qualified way.
• Why do people choose evil? Not because they desire evil as such, but because evil appears under the aspect of good in some limited way.
• What is the relationship between being in different ways? The distinction between substance and accident, and between act and potentiality, reveals different modes of being that must not be confused.
• Why are these distinctions so important throughout philosophy? Because failure to observe them leads throughout all of philosophy to confusion, false conclusions, and sophistic reasoning.

Pedagogical Note #

Berquist emphasizes that these distinctions, though subtle and requiring time to fully grasp, are foundational and appear repeatedly throughout all philosophical study. He references having taught these materials many times and notes that even experienced philosophers like his former teacher continue to discover new insights in careful study of these fundamental concepts.