 Well to get this whole ball rolling We're gonna take a look at what Aristotle has to say about the categories now Like I said Aristotle is much more interested in the particular things than Plato is We can't forget the particular things and if we understand what it means to exist We have to look at the things that actually exist so His way of doing this is the categories or the categories describe Subjects the predicates describe the subject and this is kind of not only the building block of language But just what existence is right these substances they have these predicates and we got nine predicates overall So I thought we might have a little practice with them Let's get a little practice with Aristotle's categories. I want you to be able to define these categories and Get some examples of you know get some examples how to how to apply them So remember that the categories are Predicates for subjects right these are ways that we describe a subject Well, let's start with the first one. No pun intended. We got quantity that quantity is basically just any way that we can start measuring or counting a Subject so in this case this thing has four legs. It has two eyes It has one tail we could talk about the length of this critter Which I'm going to guess is some around eight inches or so We could talk about its weight, which is probably less than a pound So a lesson one pound maybe we could talk about 15 ounces right something like that So quantity is really just any way we can count or number or measure a Subject now quality is a little bit more abstract if quantity is pretty specific quality goes in the other direction We might think our quality is just how this thing sort of affects you right or maybe Maybe we just like impressions that you have is so green right the color of this thing is Its quality its skin is rough. It's skin is also scaly right. It's not smooth skin like ours So these is kind of abstract Notions or ways that that the that the subject Affects you maybe is is one way of thinking about it relation is How you can compare This subject to other subjects right it's always going to involve two different subjects always gonna fall two things so for instance, this is on top of a branch right on top of the branch and We can even talk about it being in front of the camera. These are both relations for this for this critter here Place You know place is basically the location of the thing and by the way here's on top of the branch again and In front of the camera These are both fine For relation and for place. So this is kind of maybe a little lesson to learn about Categories just because a predicate is in one category doesn't mean it can't be in another No, it could be in more than one category and that's fine Another description or predicate for this critter in terms of place is that it's outside and Maybe we could also talk about its natural habitat. So these critters typically Naturally live in one area of the planet and all others Time is you know kind of ways that we could talk about when this thing is so right now. It's in daytime This critter is outside we could even talk about the length of its life Right that would be time and actually probably kind of think of it also work for quantity and we could talk about Measuring its life in terms of quantity posture is I think a handy way to think of posture is a special kind of relation, right? How are the Parts of the thing related to each other So the legs are currently under the body and running along the the middle of The critter the head is turned slightly slightly to the left of the body It's eyes are looking forward right through that or at least that one is You may or may not be aware of this but this critters eyes can work independently of each other So at the very least the right eye is looking forward Possession is what the thing has right? That's kind of an obvious way of talking about what's currently holding the branch But Aristotle also like to talk about possession in terms of the capabilities or powers or habits that the thing has So the subject has so in this case this subject its skin can change its color It has the ability to change its skin color. It has the ability for the eyes to move independent of each other It's also exothermic that means that it relies upon its environment for its body temperature, right? We're in humans are endothermic or we regulate our own body temperature. So action, right? This is how the subject is acting upon something else. It's also a special kind of relation, right? Particular kind of relation. So in this case again, it's grasping the branch, right? This critter is grasping the branch. So action is how it's acting upon something else Passion or passivity is how it's being acted upon. So we can even talk about it's being supported by the branch Right at once. It's holding on to the branch and it's being supported by the branch This is also being illuminated by the Sun, right? This critter is being illuminated by the Sun. This is a passivity and these are the nine categories and Sometimes Aristotle would talk about the substance or what might even consider the form of the thing as as a description as a predicate So, you know kind of sort of sometimes as the 10th Category so in this case, right? This critter is a type of lizard. That's his genus if you remember the discussion about form It's a type of lizard And it has see if I can pronounce this correct correctly Zygodactylis feet Now that's a really fancy word meaning it's got two two toes in front and two toes in the back Right that that grass so you could take a look at the picture there And you can see two toes grabbing one side and the other two toes grabbing on the other This skin changes colors, you know, I actually looked and I'm kind of a little disappointed There isn't a word or at least I couldn't find one that that means that the skin changes colors I kind of think chromatomorph would be a really great word But I'm too chicken to try to start that myself Amongst other kind of powers or abilities or what what makes excuse me how it makes This critter different than other lizards is that it hangs those rapidly extruding tongue and it uses it to grab Food as well as a prehensile tail. So, you know, you kind of put all this together We call it chameleon, right chameleon and that would be a predicate in the scent in this sense Describing this subject So I thought I'd give kind of like a little introduction into what form is for Aristotle because he does something slightly different than Plato So if you remember with Plato if you talked about the form of a thing say we're talking about the form of a square We're looking for all and only what is true about a square You know as opposed to what all squares have in common. We're looking for all and only squares have in common. So Aristotle in turn is going to appeal to what's called genus and species and I'll give a little bit of an explanation for that so We're looking at form right if we look at the form of a chair Plato is going to look for what's all and only true about chairs But all and only chairs have in common Aristotle is going to appeal to the genus and the species. So let's start with the genus The genus is the kind to which the chair belongs in this case We're doing the genus of a chair the kind to which the chair belongs and the species is how it's different from other members of its kind Okay, so let's try this with genus then. So what's the genus of chair? What's the genus of chair? Well, it's not chair right and chair is the form we're looking for chair is the name of this thing And it's not dining room chair either, right? That's a more specific kind of chair Then you know chair in general, but all and only chairs have in power chair in general I should say not all and only what chairs have in common, right? So to what kind does the chair belong? Well, it belongs to furniture. It belongs to furniture. It's a kind of furniture Well, now that we have the genus, let's take a look at the species So what are other kinds of furniture then? Well, we've got I mean lots of different kinds of furniture We got women chairs one. We also got what tables and bookcases and couches and You know ottomans and all other kinds of stuff, right? So we're looking for what's what makes chair Different from other kinds of furniture. Well, let's start with what makes you know something that's pretty different from chair Say a desk or table Well, one really big difference between a chair and a desk or table is that you sit on a chair Okay. Oh, okay. So sit on a chair. Well, what makes other other kinds of furniture that you sit on? Well, yeah, there's couches, right? So what's going to make a chair different from either couch or bench? Well chairs are for only one person to sit on right chairs are for only one person sit on other other kinds of furniture I mean have we nailed down enough? Have we neared it down enough? It's a piece of furniture that you sit on the only one person sits on well, you know, that still leaves stool, right? There's stools you could you could sit on stools in their furniture. Well, then what makes a chair different from a stool? Well, a chair Has a back on it, right stools do not right stools don't have a back on it So if we ask Aristotle for the form of chair He's gonna ask for the genus and species and the genus is that's a piece of furniture the species that has It has a back for one person to sit right has a back for one person to sit So a chair is a piece of furniture with the back for one person to sit By the way, this is just a really handy way to define anything find the genus and the species you can come up with a single Sentence definition for just about anything So if we return to our square right play-doh love squares because they're mathematical figures He would say the form of a square is the equi-lingual Equi-angular equilateral quadrilateral This is what all and only squares have in common and that's that's fine That's not a bad thing if we're gonna take Aristotle's approach We might define it a little differently and say it's a figure with four sides Right, so that maybe that's the genus a figure with four sides that are equal in length and have equal angles, right? That's the genus and the species sort of definition that Aristotle would give us