THE PREDICAMENTS AND PREDICABLES

This part is given as an introduction to the next topic on definitions. Whenever we attempt to define things, we try to find out what is the feature that the thing has in common with other objects so that we may readily disclose the nature of the thing from such common feature. Then when we proceed to look for the feature that distinguishes the thing from other objects and manifests the specific nature that is proper to the thing.

THE TEN PREDICAMENTS

The first predicament is that of Substance. The other nine predicaments are classifications of the so-called metaphysical accidents, which are non-essential modification of the substance.

1. SUBSTANCE – is a being that exists by or for itself and does not need any other subject in order to exist. Ex. Man; house. It answers the question “who or what is this thing?”

ACCIDENTS – is any thing that cannot exist by itself and must be attached to a substance. The following as the accidents:

2. Quantity – an accident which determines the spatial extension of a thing in the form of magnitude or multitude. Ex. The pole is 10 feet long. It answers the question “how much or how big?”

3. Quality – is an accident which specifies or characterizes a thing. Ex. Intelligent; brave. It answers the question “what sort of a thing it is?”

4. Relation – is an accident which logically or really connects one thing with another. Ex. Fatherhood; taller than. It answers the question “to what or to whom does it refer to?”

5. Action – is the motion of the substance commonly inducing a result on doing something in another time. Ex. Painting; running. It answers the question “what hr is doing?”

6. Passion – is the reception of an effect from another. Sometimes, it is called reaction. Ex. Being heated; being killed. It answers the question “what does it do to another?”

7. Time – is an accident that measure the duration of mobile beings. Ex. Yesterday; at 8:30 am. It answer questions, “when?”

8. Place – is an accident that determines the location. Ex, in Calbayog; in the air. It answer the question, “where?”

9. Posture -– is an accident which tells the position of part of the body. Ex. Standing; to sit down.

10. Habit – is an accident signifying the coverings of the things that are placed around the body. Ex. Clothed; armed. It answers the question “how surrounded, equipped or conditions?”

THE PREDICABLES

The predicables are the different kinds of logical universals, that is, universal concepts that may applied to many subjects. Taken as classifications, they are universal concepts bearing different kinds of logical relationship to the subject.

1. Genus – a universal term that expresses the essential feature which a things has in common with other species; e.g., man is an animal. The predicate animal is the genus or generic feature which man shares with the brutes.

2. Specific Difference – a universal tern that expresses the essential feature which distinguishes the essence of the subject from the essence of other things with which the subject shares the same genus; e.g., man is a rational being. Rationality is the essential feature which distinguishes the essence or nature of man from that of brutes.

3. Species – a universal term that expresses the whole essence or nature of the subject. It embodies both the genus and the specific difference as constituent or essential features of the subject; e.g., man is a RATIONAL – ANIMAL.

4. Property – a universal term that expresses a feature that does not form part of the essence of the subject, but necessarily derives from its essence in an exclusive and distinctive manner; e.g., man is a being capable of education, of wonderment, of religious sentiment, etc.

Logically considered, property is not any attribute that derives from or goes with the nature of man, e.g. three – fold dimension, mortality, etc.; but only a feature that is exclusive of the essential nature of man and hence derives primarily from his specific constituent feature (specific difference).

5. Accident – a universal term that expresses a feature which is not part of the essence of the subject, not necessarily connected with it, but is found in the subject only in an accessional or contingent manner; e.g., Pedro is healthy, handsome or virtuous. Contingent means that the feature may be present or may be absent from the subject.

Logical Properties of Terms

As employed or found in the sentence, terms have the following functions or roles; supposition and appellation. Supposition and appellation in modern terminology is called as logical or philosophical semantics. Semantics is the science of the meanings of words, as distinguished from phonetics which is the science of the sounds of words.

SUPPOSITION

Supposition may be taken either as the function whereby a term stands for a meaning in the proposition, or it may be taken for the meaning itself for which the term stands (for from the Latin supponere, “to substitute”). It is this meaning with which we are now concerned. For, whereas a term may have several different meaning in the dictionary, when employed in a sentence it is used to bear one meaning only.

Supposition may be classified:

I. ACCORDING TO THE OBJECT

The supposition is:

Real - when the term designates something found in the external world; E.g. the Republic of the Philippines.

Logical or Conceptual – when the term designates some product of the mind; E.g. ¾. Under this conceptual category, the supposition may also be ideological, mathematical, superstitious, hypothetical, fictitious, etc. as the designated conceptual object may be.

Metaphorical – when the term designates another thing aside from its literal meaning, from the formal resemblance of the former to the latter; E.g. the Stars and Stripes, namely, the American Nation; Mr. Juan de la Cruz, namely, the common Filipino.

II. ACCORDING TO EXTENSION

The supposition is:

Individual – when the term denotes a definite individual; E.g. the President of the First Philippine Republic;

Universal – when the term denotes distributively all the individuals of the expressed nature or category, or when the term designates a universal formal reason or a universal individual; E.g. men are progressive beings; drunkenness is not a virtue, whereas temperance is; man is mortal. – observe that a grammatically singular term may have a universal supposition.

Particular – when the term denotes only a part of the extension of the universal; E.g. some students are lazy; men (not all but most) are stronger than women (not all but most); men are less emotional than women. – observe that a grammatically plural term may have a particular supposition.

Collection – when the term designates a group, or individuals as constituting a group; E.g. the TTMIST computer hackers team; the SCUAA team.

III. ACCORDING TO COMPREHENSION

The supposition is:

Material – when the term denotes the subject expressed, merely as identified by the quality, form or nature expressed, but not as qualified by it; e.g. the physician sing, or killed a man. He does so not is his capacity as physician but as a human being.

Formal – inasmuch as the term stands for a subject as identified and qualified by the nature or qualification expressed. E.g. this physician has healed many patients. He did so in his capacity as physician.

IV. ACCORDING TO THE MEANING

The supposition is:

Precise – when the term bears only one meaning in the proposition. E.g. I am a Filipino citizen.

Ambiguous – when the term beards several possible meanings in the sentence. E.g. the UST Medical team has arrived. It may mean the playing team, or the professional team. Although the speaker may have definite meaning in his mind yet the listeners is not sure of it.

Proper – when the term stands for its proper object. E.g. Calbayog is the only city in Western Samar.

Figurative – when the term stands for another thing that it suggest. E.g. the Vatican has banned the use of the Contraceptive Pill. CMIT did a gift giving activity.

V. RULES ON SUPPOSITION OF TERMS

Sometimes the extent of the supposition of a term does not appear at first glance as we have seen in the examples given. In order to determine the supposition of such term, the following are some general rules obtained from the analysis of the given examples:

1. The extension of the supposition of the subject must be determined from the precise meaning it has in the sentence. E.g., Man is a corruptible being, mean all men distributively.

2. The predicate in an affirmative proposition, whether the proposition is universal or particular, has particular supposition. E.g., mean are mortal (there are other mortal beings aside from men); women are very talkative (there are also men who are talkative than that of women).

Exceptions to this rule are instances in which the predicate is the definition of a universal subject, or the specific part of its definition, or a property of the universal nature of the subject; e.g. man is a rational being. Take note that only man is a rational being.

3. The predicate in a negative proposition, whether the proposition is universal or particular, has universal supposition; e.g. men are not angels; some students are not intelligent.

4. A change or shift in the supposition of an apparently identical term introduces surreptitiously four conceptual terms in a syllogism, which apparently employs only three terms. The syllogism becomes fallacious.

Example:

All plants grow.

Atqui, ice plant is a plant.

Ergo, ice plant grows.

APPELLATION

Appellation literally means the calling of an object. In logic it means the function of a term denominating another term; or conversely, the denomination of a term by another. The denominating term is called the appellant; the denominated term is called the appellate. E.g. A wise (appellant) philosopher (appellate).

When an appellating term is applied to a concrete term, it may affect: a) the subject only as identified by the feature or nature expressed, although not as qualified by it; e.g. a good carpenter, i.e., a good man, although he may not be excellent in carpentry: or b) the subject as identified and qualified by the feature or nature expressed: e.g., a good carpenter, i.e., one who is expert in carpentry.

KINDS OF APPELLATION

Material – when the appellant is applied to the subject only as identified by the feature or nature expressed, but not classified by it. E.g. a poor philosopher, that is, a financially hard up man who is a philosopher.

Formal – when the appellant is applied to the subject as identified and qualified by the feature or nature expressed. E.g. a poor philosopher, that is, one who is not adept in philosophy.

Precise – when the sense of the appellation is definite and clear. E.g. excellent students are assets to the school.

Imprecise – when the sense of the appellation is not definite and clear. E.g. poor students are burden to the school. It may mean financially poor, or academically poor students.

Remarks – a shift or change in appellation changes also makes four terms in a syllogism which apparently emplies only three terms.

Example:

a good artist is an expert performer.

But, Pedro is a good artist (a good man)

Therefore, Pedro is a an expert performer. (it does not follow)