Description
Book SynopsisThis book reconsiders the Aristotelian analogy. Focusing primarily on Aristotleâs Physics Alpha, a structure of analogy emerges within Aristotleâs discussion of the principles of âœbecoming.â Eric Schumacher argues that logos, the first of these principles, is rooted in analogy and entails a type of mobility fit to reflect the be-coming of nature.
Trade ReviewEric Schumacher here offers an ambitious and original interpretation of the concept of analogy in Aristotle's Physics. In his reading, analogy becomes intimately linked to the movements of nature, insofar as it is capable of making visible not only the formal and quantitative characteristics of natural beings, but also their privations and "silent features." -- Russell Winslow, St. John's College
Delving into Aristotle’s Physics, Eric Schumacher shows that analogy, far from a matter of proportion or semantic kinship, lies at (or as) the root of logos. For logos never unfolds alone, but always alongside that which it addresses, always together with the silence of beings in their becoming. Besides allowing for novel approaches to the arduous relation of logos and nous, this stunning book radically reconfigures the meaning of logos, illuminating its rigor and creativity, precision and dynamism, privation and many-way-ness. -- Claudia Baracchi, University of Milan
The problem of analogy is one of the most difficult and important topics in philosophy. Eric Schumacher here offers the most comprehensive and cogent treatment of the Aristotelian sense of analogy that has been available to date. He clearly and concisely articulates and distinguishes the two senses of analogy that are traditionally attributed to Aristotle, focal meaning (analogy of attribution) and proportionality. He then unfolds an original and decisive argument that there is in Aristotle a third sense of analogy, connected with privation (steresis) and a-logos that brings these two senses of analogy together into an overall coherent account. Schumacher has a profound appreciation of the importance of the problem of analogy in Medieval and contemporary accounts of logic, language and being. -- Walter Brogan, Villanova University
The book is an eminently readable analysis of Aristotelian analogy. Dr. Schumacher's characterization is lucid and insightful, and will prove invaluable to scholars working in both the continental and analytic traditions. -- Lisa Schoenberg, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
Table of ContentsIntroduction Course of this Study Genesis and Analogy Comparability and Underlying Nature Chapter One: Locating the Structure of Analogy in Aristotle’s Thought Two Determinant Points of Reference for the Study of Analogy in Aristotle’s Thought: Gamma 2 and Lambda 4 Aristotle’s “Common Nature” as the Ground of Analogy in Aquinas Aquinas on Analogical Names Aquinas on the Analogy of Being Concluding Comments on Aquinas on Analogy Aristotle’s “Common Nature” as the Ground of the Abuse of Analogy Owen on Focal Meaning Aubenque on the “Origin of the Doctrine of the Analogy of Being” What Heidegger Adds to the Locating of Analogy in Aristotle Problems with the Two Interpretations of Analogy in Aristotle Chapter Two: Speaking By Nature Aristotle’s Way as an Analogical Movement of Discovery Physics Alpha, 1 Three Conditions Nous for the Structure of Analogy The Co-operation of Nous and Aisthēsis Nous and its Expression through Logos Nous and the Apprehending of First Principles A Few More Words on Nous and the Return to the Analogical Movement of Discovery Physics Alpha, 2 Concluding Remarks on the Analogical Movement of Discovery Chapter Three: On the Primary Role of Sterēsis Unification and Uniqueness as the Guiding Significance of Sterēsis Reading the Definitions of Sterēsis from Metaphysics Delta, 22 A Few More Words Regarding the Articulation of Sterēsis Physics Alpha, 3, 4 and 5 Concluding Remarks on Qualified Non-Being Chapter Four: On the Analogical Preservation of the Ambiguity of Being Physics Alpha, 6 Logos as Radical Analogy Concluding Remarks on Logos as Radical Analogy Bibliography
