LessonsArguments of the Sophists: Immediate Knowledge, Inference and RepliesQuiz

الْكُلُّ أَعْظَمُ مِنَ الْجُزْءِ
A whole is greater than its part.

This example assumes a part genuinely contained within the whole and a relevant comparison of quantity or extent. Once those concepts are properly specified, the relation need not be established through repeated experiments.

With first principles, a crucial task is conceiving the subject and predicate accurately. If someone uses “part” or “whole” in different respects, apparent disagreement may arise without defeating a properly specified principle.

One must therefore distinguish an evident judgment from a confused expression of that judgment. A failure to understand terms is not itself a counterexample to the correctly understood principle.

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First principles and their evident connection

Arguments of the Sophists: Immediate Knowledge, Inference and Replies

الْكُلُّ أَعْظَمُ مِنَ الْجُزْءِ
A whole is greater than its part.

This example assumes a part genuinely contained within the whole and a relevant comparison of quantity or extent. Once those concepts are properly specified, the relation need not be established through repeated experiments.

With first principles, a crucial task is conceiving the subject and predicate accurately. If someone uses “part” or “whole” in different respects, apparent disagreement may arise without defeating a properly specified principle.

One must therefore distinguish an evident judgment from a confused expression of that judgment. A failure to understand terms is not itself a counterexample to the correctly understood principle.