Posterior Analytics
What distinguishes scientific understanding from simply knowing that something occurs? Aristotle examines demonstration, first principles, definitions and causes. Scientific explanation must show why its object could not be otherwise in the relevant respect.
Understanding the text
The treatise extends the theory of deduction by asking which premises and connections produce understanding.
Key points
- 01
Demonstration
A scientific deduction begins from true, primary and explanatory principles; consequently not every valid inference provides scientific knowledge.
- 02
Definition and cause
Asking what an eclipse is requires an explanatory structure rather than merely replacing one word with another.
- 03
First principles
The final chapter connects perception, memory, experience and intellectual grasp without removing every difficulty concerning the emergence of universal knowledge.
How to read it
Follow the examples of eclipses and thunder to distinguish observation, definition and causal explanation.
Editions & sources
- Consult the reference 1classics.mit.edunew tab
- Consult the reference 2plato.stanford.edunew tab
- Consult the reference 3classics.mit.edunew tab
Summaries and key points are original editorial interpretations. They accompany reading the work and do not replace an edition of the text. Editorial method ↗