9. Aristotle's Six-Part Description of the Wise Man

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Six Characteristics of the Wise Man #

Aristotle presents six characteristics in ascending order of hiddenness (from more known to less known):

1. Knows all things universally: The wise man knows in some way an infinity of things through knowledge of universals (e.g., “no odd number is even” comprehends infinitely many odd numbers)
2. Knows difficult things: Wisdom concerns things difficult for humans to know, not easy sensible things (contrast: seeing a dog is easy and requires no wisdom)
3. Most certain in knowledge: The wise man possesses the greatest certitude among knowers
4. Knows causes: The wise man is able to teach causes—he knows not merely that something is, but why it must be
5. Knowledge for its own sake: Wisdom is pursued for itself, not for practical utility or results
6. Rules and directs others: The wise man directs others, as the chief artist directs subordinate craftsmen

The Tension Between Difficulty and Certitude #

An apparent paradox emerges: How can the wise man know things most difficult to know (second characteristic) while possessing the most certain knowledge (third characteristic)?

The resolution involves two orders:

• The axioms (self-evident principles like “nothing can both be and not be”) are most certain and most universal
• The wise man knows the axioms better than others by understanding the equivocal words composing them
• Knowledge of the first cause, while most difficult to attain, is also what we are most certain about through inward experience of being alive
• These are not the same way of being certain and difficult—certitude and difficulty operate on different levels

Equivocation by Reason and Defense of Axioms #

Common words like “whole,” “part,” “being,” and “before” are equivocal by reason (not by chance). The sophist deceives by confusing different senses:

Example: “The whole is greater than the part”

• A sophist argues: “Animal is only part of man, but animal includes dog, cat, horse, elephant. Therefore sometimes a part contains more than the whole.”
• The resolution: Two senses of “whole” are confused:
  • Composed whole (the definition Man = Animal + Rational): The whole is always greater than any part
  • Universal whole (predication): Animal is said of more things (dog, cat, horse, man) than man is said of
• The sophist mixes these two meanings, committing the fallacy of equivocation

The wise man defends the axioms by distinguishing equivocal senses and ordering them correctly. Thomas Aquinas and Aristotle both spend considerable effort in their works (Book V of the Metaphysics, Aristotle’s Categories) distinguishing central meanings of such words.

The Connection Between Universality and Direction #

There is a natural affinity between the wise man knowing the most universal things and the wise man directing all others:

• Reason is characterized by the ability to “look before and after” and “direct oneself and others”
• If wisdom is the highest perfection of reason, it should especially be able to direct others
• Just as a chief artist directs subordinate craftsmen, the wise man directs those less wise
• The most universal knowledge corresponds to the most universal causality

Key Arguments #

Universality Implies Knowledge of Causes #

• The wise man knows all things in some way through universals, not particulars
• The first cause has the most universal causality (extends to all being that exists in any way whatsoever)
• Therefore, wisdom must concern the first cause
• Just as a king’s causality extends to all citizens (more universal than a general’s causality over soldiers), the first cause’s universality extends to all being

The Three-Fold Similarity Between Logic and Wisdom #

Thomas Aquinas (in his Commentary on the 14 Books of Wisdom) notes three ways logic and wisdom are similar:

1. Universality: Both logic and wisdom are most universal sciences
2. Immateriality: Logic concerns immaterial things (concepts, principles); wisdom concerns immaterial things (things without matter or that don’t need matter)
3. Directional role: The logician directs all sciences by teaching proper reasoning; the wise man directs all knowledge toward first causes

Important Definitions #

Wisdom (σοφία/Sophia) #

• Knowledge of the first causes and beginnings
• Knowledge pursued for its own sake, not for practical results
• The highest perfection of reason, characterized by universality and the direction of all other sciences
• Belongs to knowing what is difficult for humans to know and what is most certain

The Wise Man (σοφός/Sophus) #

• One who knows all things in some way universally, though not in particular
• One who knows difficult things, not easy sensible things
• One who is most certain in his knowledge (especially of axioms)
• One who knows causes and is able to teach them
• One whose knowledge is desirable for itself, not merely instrumental
• One who directs and rules others, as the chief artist directs subordinate craftsmen

Equivocation by Reason (ἀμφιβολία/Amphibolia) #

• When a word is applied to multiple things for the same or similar reason, producing ambiguity
• Distinct from simple equivocation (one word with completely different meanings)
• Examples: “whole/part,” “being/non-being,” “understanding” (for angels) vs. “reason” (for humans)
• The wise man must distinguish these senses to defend the axioms against sophistic attack

Amphiboly (ἀμφιβολία/Amphibolia) #

• A phrase or statement that has more than one meaning (distinguished from equivocation, which is one word with many meanings)
• Example: “The word of God” can mean both the Bible (written word of God) and the Son (Word of God), with a harmony between these meanings

Examples & Illustrations #

The Sophistic Argument About Whole and Part #

• Sophistic claim: “Animal is only part of what man is, but animal includes besides man dog, cat, horse, elephant. Therefore, sometimes a part includes more than the whole.”
• Mother’s intuition: When Berquist told his mother “man is an animal,” she replied, “that’s better”—understanding that rational animal is more complete than merely animal
• Aristotelian resolution: The sophist confuses two senses:
  • As a composed whole (definition): Man = Animal + Rational, so the whole is always more than any part
  • As a universal whole (predication): Animal is predicated of dog, cat, horse, man—so the universal is said of more particulars than man is
• The sophist commits the most common fallacy: mixing up the senses of words

Induction vs. Syllogism #

• Induction: Argument from many singulars to universal (weaker argument)
• Syllogism: Argument from universal to particular (stronger argument)
• Example: “This man has two ears, that man has two ears, another man has two ears…” → “Man is a two-eared animal”
• The natural road of knowledge explains why induction comes before syllogism in our learning

Example as Argument #

• Simple meaning: A singular case used to illustrate the universal
• Argument meaning: An argument from one singular to another singular of the same kind
• Illustration: From the bad experience with lobster (“they’re like cockroaches”), one might avoid similar seafood (the argument from one particular to another particular)
• Example arguments are easier to use and more natural than induction

Odd and Even Numbers #

• By knowing the universal “no odd number is even,” one comprehends infinitely many odd numbers in a single principle
• This demonstrates how the wise man knows all things in some way through universals

Notable Quotes #

“Reason is the ability for large discourse, to understand reason and direct oneself and others.” — Shakespeare (via Berquist)

“God alone is wise, or if we say man is wise, it’s in a very imperfect way compared to God. Only God is fully wise.” — Pythagoras (cited by Berquist)

“It belongs to the wise man to order things.” — Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Nicomachean Ethics

“Wisdom is a knowledge of God in both senses of the word—knowledge which God most of all has, and knowledge which is about God.” — Berquist (speaking to his granddaughter Sophia)

“That’s better.” — Berquist’s mother, on hearing that man is a rational animal, not merely an animal

Questions Addressed #

How can the wise man be both most certain and know most difficult things? #

The apparent tension is resolved by recognizing that certitude and difficulty operate at different levels:

• Certitude: Belongs to the axioms, which are self-evident and known through themselves by all men (e.g., “nothing can both be and not be”)
• Difficulty: The first cause is most difficult to know because it is furthest from sensation
• Inward experience: We are most certain about the first cause through our inward experience of being alive, even though we struggle to know it discursively
• These are not in the same mode—the axioms are intrinsically certain, while knowledge of the first cause is certain through what it grounds but difficult in its apprehension

Why do modern philosophers fail to defend the axioms? #

They fail to distinguish equivocal senses of common words like “being” and “becoming”:

• Hegel could not properly distinguish “being” and “becoming”
• Marx never distinguished the four senses of “opposites” in dialectical materialism
• This requires the careful analysis of equivocation that Aristotle provides in the Categories and Metaphysics Book V

How does the natural road illuminate the order of the six characteristics? #

The order proceeds from what is first in our knowledge to what is deepest in reality:

• First known (and easiest): The wise man knows all things = universality (what we know first)
• Second known: The wise man knows difficult things (things less immediately known than sensibles)
• Third known: Certitude in knowledge (the result of understanding equivocal words)
• Fourth known: Knowledge of causes (moving from effects to causes)
• Fifth known: Knowledge for its own sake (the nature of wisdom itself)
• Sixth known (and least obvious): Direction of others (the role and function of wisdom)

Why is knowledge for its own sake more perfect than practical knowledge? #

Christ’s teaching through the example of Mary and Martha: “Mary has chosen the better part, and it shall not be taken away from her.”

• The practical life (Martha’s part) ends with death
• The contemplative life (Mary’s part) continues eternally in praising and contemplating God
• In heaven, we do nothing to God in the sense of changing Him—we contemplate and praise Him
• Therefore, knowledge desired for itself is higher than knowledge sought for external results

Pedagogical Notes #

Berquist emphasizes the importance of understanding how these six characteristics form a coherent description that points toward wisdom as knowledge of the first cause. The apparent tensions (between difficulty and certitude, between universality and particularity) are resolved by careful attention to the natural road of knowledge and the distinction of equivocal senses. Students should see how each characteristic illuminates the nature of wisdom and how wisdom functions as the highest perfection of reason, directing all other sciences toward their proper objects.