20. Truth, Wisdom, and First Causes in Aristotle

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Truth as Both Easy and Difficult #

• Aristotle’s paradox: knowing truth is in some ways easy, in other ways difficult
• Three ways truth is easy:
  1. Everyone encounters some truth through their occupation or daily activities (the hamburger maker learns about hamburgers)
  2. Large amounts of truth accumulate through the contributions of many people (“many hands make light work”)
  3. Some truths are universally known and impossible to avoid (e.g., substance vs. quantity distinction that everyone grasps intuitively)
• The difference from what seems naive: Aristotle carefully distinguishes what makes truth easy, showing this is not obvious or simplistic

Aristotle’s Method: Clarifying Pre-existing Knowledge #

• Aristotle’s philosophy clarifies thoughts that people already have in an indistinct, confused way
• Example: The man in the street knows that “what a man is” differs from “the size of a man,” reflecting the distinction between substance and quantity (the first two Aristotelian categories)
• This is why Aristotelian philosophy is “philosophy, period” rather than one man’s invented system
• Contrast with modern philosophers whose ideas are “their philosophy” rather than true philosophy

The Cause of Difficulty in Knowing Truth #

• The difficulty of truth has different causes in different sciences:
  • Natural philosophy is more difficult than geometry because the things studied “hardly exist” (motion, time, matter in flux). The defect is in the things themselves, not in us.
  • Wisdom/First philosophy is more difficult than geometry not because of defects in the things (which are most illuminating) but because of weakness in our minds
• Augustine’s paradox on time: “If nobody asks me what time is, I know what it is. But if somebody asks me, I don’t know”
• The most intelligible things are most obscure to us due to our intellectual weakness

Why Truth Belongs Most to the Wise Man #

• First distinction: Theoretical (speculative/looking) knowledge vs. Practical knowledge

  • The end (goal/purpose) of theoretical knowledge is truth itself
  • The end of practical knowledge is action/doing, not truth
  • Since the end is what is most important about anything, truth pertains far more to theoretical knowledge than practical knowledge

• Second distinction: Practical knowledge considers truths that are often temporary and relative

  • Example: England’s allies and enemies change with circumstance (France was enemy in Napoleonic Wars, ally in WWI and WWII)
  • Such truths are “sometimes true and sometimes not true,” making them less true than eternal truths
  • Eternal truths (e.g., a triangle’s interior angles equal right angles) are more true than contingent truths

• Among theoretical sciences: Wisdom is most concerned with truth because it deals with first causes, and first causes are most true

The Principle of Causality #

• Core principle: If the same property belongs to two things, and one is the cause of the other possessing it, then the property belongs more to the cause
• The cause is most of all what the property is said of

Simple examples:

• Fire is hot, and air around fire is hot, but air is hot because of the fire → fire is hotter
• Water is wet, cloth is wet, but cloth is wet because of water → water is wetter
• Sugar is sweet, coffee is sweet, but coffee is sweet because of sugar → sugar is sweeter

Applied to truth:

• If an effect is true, it is true because of its cause
• Therefore, the cause is more true than the effect
• If the cause itself has a cause, that prior cause is even more true
• Conclusion: The first cause is most true

First Causes and Being #

• Key corollary: “Whence is each thing towards being, so also is it towards truth”
• Being and truth are correlated: primacy in being entails primacy in truth
• Connection to revelation: God says “I am who am” (primacy in being) and “I am truth itself” (primacy in truth)
• This makes metaphysical sense to Aristotle as a philosopher—the first cause must be first in both being and truth

The Structure of Wisdom’s Investigation #

• Berquist identifies a “subplot” structure in Books I-II of the Metaphysics
• Book I (main plot): Establishes that there are four kinds of causes
• Book II (subplot): Establishes that there are first causes in each kind of cause
• Books III-X: Consider other matters (being, unity, etc.) as preparation for fuller knowledge
• Books XI-XIV: Return to much more complete understanding of what the first cause is
• This mirrors the structure of the Nicomachean Ethics:
  • Book I: defines happiness (ἐυδαιμονία)
  • Books II-IX: examines virtues
  • Book X: redefines happiness more fully and completely

Key Arguments #

Why Wisdom Must Be About First Causes #

• Premise 1: The end (purpose) of theoretical knowledge is truth itself
• Premise 2: Truth pertains far more to theoretical than practical knowledge
• Premise 3: Among theoretical sciences, wisdom deals with first causes
• Premise 4: If the same property belongs to both cause and effect, it belongs more to the cause
• Applied to truth: First causes are most true because effects are true through their causes
• Conclusion: The consideration of truth belongs most of all to the wise man

The Role of Predecessors in Knowing Truth #

• We are helped not only by those we agree with but also by those we disagree with
• With disagreeing positions, we must refute them, which develops our understanding
• Example: Aristotle’s engagement with Parmenides and Melissus (who deny multiplicity and change) develops understanding even though their positions are absurd

Important Definitions #

Key Terms #

• Theoretical/Speculative knowledge (θεωρία/speculativa): Knowledge whose end is truth itself; considers eternal, unchanging things. Sometimes translated as “looking” knowledge.
• Practical knowledge (πρακτική): Knowledge whose end is action; considers particular, changing circumstances and useful truths
• First cause (πρώτη αἰτία): That which is the cause of being/property for other things but has no cause itself; most true, most being, most intelligible in itself
• Philosophy (φιλοσοφία): The reasoned-out knowledge of truth; wisdom has the greatest claim to this name
• Wisdom (σοφία): The knowledge of first causes; what a lover of wisdom (philosopher) pursues
• Moved mover (κινοῦν κινούμενον): Something that causes motion only insofar as it is itself moved or changed

Examples & Illustrations #

The Hamburger Maker #

• A person making hamburgers will discover truths about hamburgers (they shrink when cooked) regardless of their goal
• Illustrates how everyone necessarily encounters some truth through their occupation

The Distinction Between Substance and Quantity #

• Asking the man in the street: “Is what a man is and the size of a man the same thing? No.”
• Same question about dogs
• Shows people already know intuitively the distinction between substance and quantity (the first two categories)
• Aristotle clarifies what people already understand confusedly

England’s Changing Allies #

• Napoleon era: France is England’s enemy
• World Wars I and II: France is England’s ally
• Illustrates how practical truths change with circumstances
• Contrast with eternal mathematical truths like the triangle’s angles

Fire and Hot Air #

• Fire is hot; air around fire is hot
• Air’s heat comes from the fire
• Therefore fire is hotter than the heated air
• Simple illustration of how properties belong more to their cause

The Boxer and the Gloves #

• A champion boxer’s gloves knock someone out; the person is knocked out
• But it’s not really the gloves—it’s the boxer who knocked them out
• The gloves knocked them out because of the boxer
• The boxer is more truly “the one who knocked you out” than the gloves are
• Illustrates the principle applied to causality in action

Notable Quotes #

“Aristotle’s philosophy is not Aristotle’s philosophy. It is philosophy, period.” — Berquist, distinguishing Aristotle from modern philosophers

“If you ask the man in the street, is what a man is and the size of a man the same thing? No.” — Berquist, on how Aristotle clarifies pre-existing knowledge

“If nobody asks me what time is, I know what it is. But if somebody asks me, I don’t know.” — Augustine (via Berquist), on the paradox of understanding time

“Many hands make light work.” — Berquist’s mother (cited by Berquist), illustrating how truth accumulates through many contributions

“The business of the teacher is to encourage the student.” — Dion (Berquist’s teacher, cited by Berquist), on balancing hope and fear in education

Questions Addressed #

Why is it appropriate for the wise man to discuss how man is towards truth? #

• The consideration of truth belongs most of all to the wise man
• Wisdom is about first causes, and first causes are most true
• The wise man directs all other inquiry, so he should consider this fundamental question

How can truth be both easy and difficult? #

• Easy: Everyone encounters some truth; truth accumulates through many; some truths are universally recognized
• Difficult: But the cause of difficulty is different—in us (our weakness) for divine/first causes; in the things themselves for natural philosophy

Why do first causes have the greatest claim to being “most true”? #

• Effects possess truth only because of their causes
• What belongs more to the cause than to the effect is true in a fuller, more primary way
• Applying this principle successively up a causal chain leads to the first cause being most true

How does Aristotle’s method clarify rather than invent? #

• He takes what people already know confusedly and brings it to clear understanding
• Example: Everyone knows substance ≠ quantity; Aristotle articulates this as the distinction between the first two categories
• This is why his philosophy is universal, not peculiar to Aristotle

What is the relationship between being and truth? #

• Each thing is towards truth in the same way it is towards being
• Primacy in being and primacy in truth both belong to the first cause
• This explains why God is “I am” (being) and “I am truth” (truth)