CNE/PHL 370                Study Guide for Aristotle Exam #1

1. Describe Aristotle's biography, where and when he was born, his family, education, the (name of the) school he founded, and his career (CCR 645–654).

Categories Chs. 1-5
2. Explain Aristotle's definitions of homonymy, synonymy, and paronymy; give examples of each.
3. Give examples of things said of a subject but not in any subject; things in a subject but not said of any subject; things both said of and in a subject; things neither in a subject nor said of a subject.
4. Explain Aristotle's taxonomy of specimen, species, genus, primary substance, and secondary substance.  Explain what differentiae are.
5. List, explain, and give examples of Aristotle's Ten Categories (things "said without any combination").
6. What is an affirmation composed of?  Explain the concepts of particulars and universals.
7. Explain the seven reasons why primary substances are substances most strictly (Categories Ch. 5).

De Interpretatione
8. Explain the relationships between prayers, sentences, statements, affirmations, and negations.
9. Present Aristotle's Square of Opposition (A, E, I, O, contraries, contradictories).
10. Explain the distinction between essential properties and 'coincidents.'

Topics Book I, Chs. 1, 2, 5
11. Identify Aristotle's definitions of deduction, premisses, common beliefs (endoxa), definition, distinctive property, genus, and coincident.

Physics Book II, Chs. 1–9
12. Explain Aristotle's account of how, exactly, animals, plants, earth, air, fire, and water differ from artifacts like beds and coats (Ch. 1).
13. What are the two senses of nature described at 193a28 and 193b3?
14. Explain Aristotle's concept of telos.  In what precise sense is Aristotle's account of nature 'teleological'?  Describe the telos of an acorn.
15. What are the Four 'Explanations' ("on account of what"s)?   Give examples of each for various animate organisms and inanimate objects.   What is the cause of the house being built potentially?  What is the cause of the house being built actually? (Ch. 3).
16. What is the final 'explanation' of human beings?  What sort of thing is being happy?  Why does Aristotle think that neither inanimate things, nor nonhuman animals, nor children do anything by luck? (Ch. 6: 197b5–9).
17. Describe Aristotle's 'Biting' Argument for Teleology (Ch. 8).
18. What does Aristotle mean when he says 'art imitates nature'?  In what sense is nature like a doctor doctoring herself? (Ch.8)

De Anima (selections)
19. Explain Aristotle's complex theory of the soul (psyche).   What are the three different senses of substance he identifies in Ch. 1?  Why does Aristotle think that the body cannot be soul?  What are the two levels of actuality, and what is each akin to?  Identify Aristotle's two different definitions of the soul.
20. Aristotle says that the body is to the soul as the wax is to what?  As the axe is to what?  As the eye is to what?  Does Aristotle think that a soul can exist without a body?
21. What are the three levels (types) of soul?  What kind of organism has each type?  What are the characteristic discriminations, functions, and activities of each type of soul?  What are the two most basic kinds of desires (wanting)? (Ch. 2)
22. What is the fourth class of animate beings?  What type of soul do its specimens have?
23. Compare and contrast Aristotle's account of Passive and Active (Productive) Intellect.  What qualities does each have? (Chs. 4–5).

Posterior Analytics Book II, Ch. 19
24. Explain Aristotle's epistemology, theory of perception, and theory of experience and universals.  How are universals formed?  How is knowledge of the first, immediate principles (premisses) gained?

Metaphysics Book I, Chs. 1–3
25. State verbatim the first sentence of Chapter 1.
26. Explain Aristotle's account of how experience (empeiria) differs from art/craft (techne) in relation to knowledge (episteme) (Ch. 1).
27. Identify the four things that distinguish the wise man (Ch. 2)
28. Why does Aristotle think that all of the sciences are more necessary, but none are better, than the science of first principles? (Ch. 2: 983a4–12).

Metaphysics Book XII, Chs. 6–9
29. Describe the argument for the contingency of objects.
30. Describe the argument for non-material substances.
31. Describe the argument for the necessary existence of the Primary Mover.
32. Explain Aristotle's account of how love makes the world go around.
33. Explain in detail Aristotle's account of the Primary (First) Mover.   What characteristics does "the god" have?  What activities does "the god" perform?  What is the nature of "the god"?
34. Explain Aristotle's cosmological model of the arrangement of the universe.