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tions and of artificial products? Every predicate applicable
to every thing would needs have an eternal Ideal-Pattern
in the intelligible realm. And, again, how are we to conceive
of that "participation" which Plato could never explain or,
at least, could explain only obscurely by metaphor and
myth? If the Ideas are outside things, how can they help
us to know things? If there must be posited an intelligible
man to explain why Callias is one of many similar men, by
what reason must you reject a third man in order to explain
how Callias and the intelligible Idea of man are the same,
and so on? True, Plato seems to have been acquainted with
these problems (Parmenides) and therefore sought refuge
in the Pythagorean theory of Ideal-Numbers. But what kind
of causality can they exercise? And, how can Ideas; among
themselves heterogeneous, be assimilated to numbers, among
themselves homogeneous, since they pertain to the genus of
quantity? To Aristotle the doctrine of Platonic Ideas seemed
to be but a beautiful poetic dream. He would draw up a
radically different explanation.As Socrates foresaw, exact definitions must be sought;
but the means of acquiring them must be, in addition to
common sense and the common discussions, the examina-
tions of the opinions of his learned predecessors, the col-
lection of observations and the making of experiments.
These, however, are but a mere preparation for science.
Science must proceed deductively, by the inferring of
properties from the essence. In general, Aristotle follows
this procedure:
1. He determines accurately the subject-matter of the
investigation, and its problematic.
2. He describes historically the diverse solutions pro-
posed to the problem under consideration.
3. He inserts reasons for doubting the previous solutions.
4. He indicates his own solution with appropriate evi-
dence and reasoning.
5. He refutes the other solutions proposed. (On occa-

-12-

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Publication Information: Book Title: Aristotle Dictionary. Contributors: Thomas P. Kiernan - editor. Publisher: Philosophical Library. Place of Publication: New York. Publication Year: 1962. Page Number: 12.
    
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