129. The Ten Highest Genera and Categories of Being

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

• Highest Genera and Universal Names: The distinction between universal names and genera; why being (ens) or something (aliquid) is the most universal name
• Genus and Species Relationships: How the same term can function as both genus and species; the impossibility of infinite regress upward in predicative hierarchy
• The Ten Predicaments: Aristotle’s enumeration of the ten highest genera and the principle by which they are distinguished
• Thomas’s Threefold Division: How Thomas Aquinas orders accidents according to whether they are said of substances by reason of what they are, what is in them, or something outside them
• Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Accidents: The subdivision of accidents based on whether they pertain to something within or beyond the subject
• Extrinsic Measures and Relations: How place, time, and relational predicates function as categories
• Position (Situs) as Distinct Category: The order of parts in place as requiring an external reference point

Key Arguments #

The Necessity of a Highest Genus #

• If every genus had a genus above it, there would be an infinite regress of universal thoughts, making knowledge impossible
• Therefore, there must be a most universal name—being or something—that is not predicable of anything more universal
• However, being/something is predicated of everything that is, yet it is not a single genus because it is not said of “many things other in kind” with one meaning

The Distinction of Multiple Highest Genera #

• Most universal names must be equivocal by reason (having related but distinct meanings)
• Individual substances form one highest genus (substance itself)
• Things said of substances by reason of what they are belong to substance
• Things said of substances by reason of something in them, or by reason of something outside them, require separate categories

Thomas’s Threefold Organization #

• First division: Things said of individual substances by reason of what they are (yields substance as the highest genus)
• Second division: Things said by reason of something in the subject (subdivided into two types)
  • Absolutely in the subject: qualities and quantities
  • Toward another: relations (πρός τι / ad aliquid)
• Third division: Things said by reason of something outside the subject (subdivided)
  • By extrinsic measure: when (time) and where (place)
  • By cause and effect: action (acting upon) and passion (undergoing)
  • By specific external arrangement: position/situs (order of parts in place)
  • By middle relation: to have (ἔχειν / habitus)

Important Definitions #

Genus (γένος) #

A name said with one meaning of many things differing in kind (or species), signifying what those things are. Example: “animal” said of dog, cat, and horse, with one meaning (living body with sensation).

Most Universal Name #

A name predicated of all existing things (being/ens or something/aliquid), but not functioning as a genus because it is not said of “many things other in kind” with a single, determinate meaning.

Individual Substance #

That which does not exist in anything else as a subject and is not said of anything else (e.g., Socrates, Plato, a particular dog).

Accidental Being #

Being said of individual substances for reasons other than what they essentially are—either by reason of something in them or something outside them.

Position/Situs (σχέσις / situs) #

The order or arrangement of parts in place; requires an external reference point (e.g., sitting requires a chair). Distinct from mere bodily shape (quality).

To Have/Habitus (ἔχειν / habitus) #

The middle relation between a haver and what is had, particularly exemplified by clothing on a person. As a category, it refers to an external relation, distinct from habit as a quality.

Examples & Illustrations #

Sitting vs. Crouching #

• If one crouches and assumes a body shape similar to sitting, one is not truly sitting
• Sitting requires something external—a chair—that one’s parts are arranged around
• This shows position requires an external reference, whereas a mere quality (shape) does not

The Airplane Example #

• A person jumping from an airplane may have the same body shape as someone standing, but is not standing
• Without support from below (the floor), the external arrangement (position/situs) is not present
• This illustrates that position differs from quality or shape

Geometric Examples (from Euclid) #

• Square, oblong, rhombus, rhomboid, trapezium are all said of by the universal name “quadrilateral”
• These are many things other in kind, making quadrilateral a true genus

Numbers and Doubling/Halving #

• Four is double of two and half of eight; eight is double of four and half of sixteen
• All positive numbers have numbers both above and below them—none is a maximal “doubling” without being a “halving” of something
• However, one is half of two but nothing’s double; this number cannot be infinitely surpassed
• This analogy shows why there must be highest genera: the mind cannot operate with infinite regress

Father and Son #

• A human is simultaneously father (toward children) and son (toward parents), but not in the same relation
• Adam would be father but not son; some are sons but not fathers
• This shows the same thing can be both genus and species, cause and effect, but not universally

Notable Quotes #

“It can’t go on forever because you’d never have a thought. You’d have to have infinite thoughts to think about anything.” — Berquist, explaining why infinite regress in genera is impossible

“The whole thing, right? Genus is a name said with one meaning, of many things.” — Berquist, clarifying Aristotle’s definition of genus

“If you’re standing, I have to have something outside of me that my parts are arranged with respect to the floor.” — Berquist, explaining position/situs as requiring external reference

“How do you know there’s a genus which is not a species?” — Berquist, posing the central question leading to the discovery of highest genera

Questions Addressed #

Is being (ens) a genus? #

Resolution: Being is the most universal name, but not a genus in the strict sense, because it is not said of “many things other in kind” with one determinate meaning. It is equivocal by reason.

How many highest genera are there, and why? #

Resolution: Aristotle distinguishes ten (substance, quantity, quality, relation, action, passion, when, where, position, to have). They are distinguished by the ways something can be predicated of individual substances. The mind grasps divisions into two or three most easily; Aristotle’s ten requires careful analysis of how accidents relate to substances.

How does Thomas organize the ten categories? #

Resolution: Thomas uses three principles: (1) things said of substances by reason of what they are; (2) things said by reason of something in the subject (absolute or toward another); (3) things said by reason of something outside the subject (by measure, by cause/effect, or by external arrangement).

What is the difference between position (situs) and quality? #

Resolution: Position is the order of parts in place and requires an external reference point (e.g., sitting requires a chair). Quality inheres in the subject without external reference (e.g., the shape of one’s body). Position is a category distinct from quality.

Why must there be highest genera if every genus could theoretically have a genus above it? #

Resolution: Infinite regress in genera would require infinite thoughts to know anything, which is impossible for the finite human mind. Therefore, most universal names like being must exist that cannot be further universalized.

Methodological Notes #

• The Rule of Two or Three: The human mind most easily grasps divisions into two or three. Aristotle’s division into ten categories is therefore difficult to systematize without careful analysis using the principle of predication
• Equivocation by Reason: The word “being” (ens) is equivocal by reason—it has multiple related meanings that cannot be reduced to a single genus, yet maintain an internal coherence
• Principle of Predication: Categories are distinguished by asking how something can be said (praedicari) of individual substances—either as what they are, or as something in them, or as something outside them