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Random Philosophy
Oct. 21st, 2003 06:54 pmI juts ran across this while reading Avicenna.
"Moreover, if any thing is composed of two things, if one of the two things cam be found without the other, the other can be found without the first. An example of this is oxymel, which is composed of vinegar and honey: if vinegar can be found without honey, honey can be found without vinegar. Another example is the formed statue composed of bronze and the human form: if bronze can be found without the human form, the human form can be found without the bronze. This can be found by induction and has many examples."
I'm not buying into the induction bit without an actual proof, since I've seen too many 'proofs' of this sort by ancient philosophers. The concept, however, strikes me as very interesting, particularly the form/material bit. Does anyone have any counterexamples, or particularly interesting examples? My brain is wavering between "I've got it, it all makes sense, look how obvious this idea is," and "What about this case? This isn't true at all."
Of all the Avicenna I've worked through tonight, this was the bit that most caught my eye. It sort of sums up the rest however. I've found a tendency to alternate between "how interesting," and "you make no sense," though usually in regards to different arguments.
"Moreover, if any thing is composed of two things, if one of the two things cam be found without the other, the other can be found without the first. An example of this is oxymel, which is composed of vinegar and honey: if vinegar can be found without honey, honey can be found without vinegar. Another example is the formed statue composed of bronze and the human form: if bronze can be found without the human form, the human form can be found without the bronze. This can be found by induction and has many examples."
I'm not buying into the induction bit without an actual proof, since I've seen too many 'proofs' of this sort by ancient philosophers. The concept, however, strikes me as very interesting, particularly the form/material bit. Does anyone have any counterexamples, or particularly interesting examples? My brain is wavering between "I've got it, it all makes sense, look how obvious this idea is," and "What about this case? This isn't true at all."
Of all the Avicenna I've worked through tonight, this was the bit that most caught my eye. It sort of sums up the rest however. I've found a tendency to alternate between "how interesting," and "you make no sense," though usually in regards to different arguments.
