On Aristotle's Dialectic

Dialectic is the basic philosophical inquiry method of ancient Greek philosophers,especially Socrates,Plato and Aristotle,or to say,it is their specific reasoning style.Among them,Aristotle,who culminates in the development of dialectic,not only gives much comprehensive,substantial and detailed description and discussion of dialectic,but also widely uses it in his encyclopedic research fields.However,Aristotle's different theoretical elucidation of dialectic and his philosophical inquiry processes with rich themes and various forms bring great challenges to the understanding of the basic connotation,activity fields,main functions and philosophical status of his dialectic.These challenges not only become the deep reason why Aristotle's dialectic is still fascinating and causes continuous debates,but also constitute the necessity and significance of carrying out a systematic and detailed investigation and research on it.To be specific,first of all,to provide a relatively complete and orderly picture of Aristotle's dialectic,may explain or dissolve those seemingly inconsistent dilemmas on the one hand,and may lay a more solid foundation for a more reasonable understanding and evaluation of the value and function of this dialectic on the other.Secondly,in view of the inheritance relationship between Aristotle's dialectic and that of Socrates and Plato,this study will also provide an important cognitive angle for clarifying the complicated relations between the Aristotelian and Socratic and Platonic philosophy.Thirdly,as dialectic concerns the complex relationship between the development of philosophical activities and the rational community in a certain sense,and concerns some characteristics and abilities of interdisciplinary inquiry,this study will also contribute some possible inspiration and enlightenment to our philosophical activities today and even the important undertaking of the integration and intersection of disciplines in progress.Based on the above background and motivation,this study takes Aristotle's main philosophical works or works with philosophical significance(Organon,Physics,On the Heavens,History ofA nimals,Parts ofAnimals,On the Soul,Nicomachean Ethics,Eudemian Ethics,Metaphysics etc.)as the scope,and takes dialectic as the object,explore the source of thought,the basic structure,the way of application and the relationship between dialectic and first principle.It mainly includes four parts.The first part focuses on the source of thought of Aristotle's dialectic,including the first chapter and the second chapter.In the first chapter,we neither agree that Aristotle's dialectic is a complete misappropriation or restatement of the Socratic elenchus,no matter the restatement is positive or negative,nor think that there is no relationship between the two.Instead,we prove a new interpretation scheme:the controversial philosophical activity of Socrates is indeed an important source of Aristotle's dialectic.However,in view of the tension between Socrates' elenctic dialectical procedure and his philosophical goal,Aristotle's dialectic not only contains some description and revelation of Socrates' elenctic procedure,but also consciously and purposefully carries out further fruitful and significant supplement,modification and development.This modification and development is not only the result of philosophical methodology reflection,but also deeply permeates Aristotle's unique understanding of the general structure of philosophical activities,including the starting point,research field and object of philosophical activities.The second chapter focuses on the complex relationship between Aristotelian and Platonic dialectic.We do not deny the inheritance between the two advocated by commentators,but we would like to clarify the great innovation of Platonic dialectic made by Aristotle,especially in his early work Organon.To put it bluntly,as the basic way of all serious philosophical activities,Plato's dialectic is not only a philosophical methodology,but also a unity of methodology,ontology and epistemology.It is a dialectic in the framework of idealistic metaphysics.However,on the premise of avoiding the commitment of idealistic metaphysics,Organon still adheres to the dominant position of dialectic in methodology of philosophical activities or philosophical scientific exploration.However,dialectic in this sense has made important innovation and development of Plato's dialectic in the scope of dialectical activities,starting point,procedures and other aspects.The second part focuses on the basic structure of Aristotle's dialectic,including chapter three and chapter four.The third chapter focuses on the relationship between the two meanings of the concept of phenomena(phainomena),which is the starting point of Aristotle's dialectic.As for the two positions in the academic circle,we support the similarity theory,namely,there is basis and possibility of the identity between perceived experience and the reputable opinions(endoxa).However,we believe that the argument of most similarity theorists on this stand has not been deeply rooted.Therefore,we try to introduce a new train of thought,that is,by examining Aristotle's position of realism and the view of human cognitive structure,to re prove the deep cause and basis that Aristotle takes the two meanings together as phainomena,and thus to provide a coherent explanation for the use of phainomena in different fields.Based on Topics and Sophistical Refutations,the fourth chapter analyzes the specific operation procedures of dialectic in detail,and summarizes them as follows:(1)Selecting theses.The topic of dialectic investigation must be that of which there are differences between the popular opinions and endoxa,or there are differences between endoxa.Only such a topic can be of inquiry value.(2)Selecting or constructing dialectical proposition.There are two ways to investigate the topic:establishing a thesis and refutation.The starting point of refutation is the one that can cause confusion among various endoxa under the topic,that is,the one that causes contradiction between them,while establishing a thesis needs to construct proposition through the process from perceiving to induction.(3)Investigating and refuting the above dialectical proposition from the aspects of semantics and four elements(i.e.definition,genos,property and accident)——establishing a thesis mainly constructs the proposition and reasoning according to these regulations,while refutation searches for errors in the proposition according to these regulations and constructs syllogism reasoning on the premise of the investigated proposition.(4)Criticizing,analyzing and resoluting the constructed reasoning argument,that is,to find out the fallacies in the reasoning process or premise of syllogism,and to correct or eliminate them in corresponding ways.In addition,in many applications of dialectical procedures,we think that the two inquiries into the theory of four causes in Physics and Metaphysics are relatively complete and typical,because they show both the refutation process and the establishing path.Therefore,this chapter also specifically illustrates the general procedural structure of dialectic through the detailed explanation of the process of investigation of four causes.The third part discusses the specific applications of dialectic in different disciplines,including the fifth and sixth chapters.The fifth chapter mainly proves two core views,namely,the three steps of "saving the phenomena(phainomena)" proposed in the seventh volume of Nicomachean Ethics,that is,putting out the phenomena(phainomena),discussing the difficulties(aporia),and retaining the most reputable opinions,are the expressions of the refutation path of dialectic,which is the dominant method of ethical inquiry.These two arguments are based on the basic procedure of dialectic discussed in chapter four Especially,in the second argument,we analyze and reveal the process of exploring the definition of happiness in Nicomachean Ethics——putting forward the proposition that "happiness turns out to be activity of soul in conformity with excellence",analyzing and establishing it from four aspects,and finally obtaining the definition of "happiness is contemplative activity"——is consistent with the path of the establishing path of dialectic,and then refute the relevant reasons of oppositions one by one.Finally,it shows that dialectic plays a key role in Aristotle's whole ethical exploration.The sixth chapter investigates the function and status of dialectic in Aristotle's natural science,especially in the field of zoology and astrology.In zoological inquiry,we oppose the current popular view that the method of zoological inquiry is just the scientific method in Posterior Analytics,but still adhere to the important role of dialectic in it.We also disagree with the judgment of the recent scholars on the controversial issue of reasonable reasoning(eulogos)in the field of astrology,and re reveal its consistent relationship with dialectic.The fourth part discusses the relationship between Aristotle's dialectic and the first principle.In this part,compared with many positions related to this issue,we first make a clear distinction between the types and levels of the first principles,and then analyze it from two aspects:the first principle of specific science and the first principle of metaphysics.Chapter seven explores the relationship between dialectic and the first principle of specific science.According to the comprehensive analysis of Topics and Posterior Analytics,we describe the basic picture of Aristotle's specific scientific inquiry process as follows:(1)The person with sensory perception perceives and remembers the particular things and forms experience;(2)Different experiences are sorted out or compared to find the differences and similarities;(3)Including to form a hypothetical dialectical proposition,or to select the proposition with the value of investigation in endoxa;(4)Examining the dialectical proposition according to the rules of dialectic;(41,2,…n)Modifying and perfecting the proposition,and constantly improves the certainty of it;(5)Obtaining true proposition;(51,2,…n),Repeating the above steps to obtain multiple true propositions;(6)Grasping the proposition with the highest explanatory power as the first principle;(7)Deducing from the first principle to get scientific knowledge.Based on the judgment of the two levels of ability of nous,the completion of step(5)and(6)both requires the participation of it.In this way,the role and task of dialectic in the process of winning the first principles of specific science are clear at a glance.That is to say,although(5)and(6)show the importance of nous,from the overall process of exploring the first principles,the contribution and status of dialectic are indispensable and irreplaceable:it is based on the dialectic's diligent investigation into complex details of propositions according to various detailed rules,that we can gradually approach the first principle of specific science.Chapter eight examines the role of dialectic in metaphysics.Since the first principle or axiom of metaphysics is general principle that needs to be known or presupposed when engaged in specific scientific research,the exploration of them is relatively unified.We can even say that exploring these principles is the task of the discipline of metaphysics——although Organon distinguishes ten categories and denies the possibility of a general science.Then,the study and judgment of the relationship between dialectic and the first principles of metaphysics can be realized through the investigation of the role of dialectic in metaphysics.In this chapter,we demonstrate a clear point of view that dialectic,as the only way to explore metaphysics,is the main method to obtain the first principle of metaphysics.This suggestion is proved by two parts:theoretical basis and practical basis.The theoretical basis is that when Aristotle acknowledged the possibility of a universal science in metaphysics,he also indicated or implied in many texts the attitude and determination of using dialectic to explore this science;the practical basis lies in the applications of dialectic in metaphysics.The most important one among them is that the investigation of substance per se being in seventh volume adopts a dialectical approach,and in this way,Aristotle puts forward a new key question,that is,"how could the material of this or that become an individual thing"——the eighth and ninth volumes are the expansion and response to this question.In this way,from the perspective of dialectical methodology,an important theoretical problem that has long plagued the academic circle which is the real relationship between the inquiry types of "per se being" and "potential/actual being" in the core volume of metaphysics,can also be reasonable explained.Neither can we regard the latter as a"consistent" or even "natural”supplement to the former,nor can we directly regard the latter as another "new" approach completely independent of or even against the former.Rather,the latter is a development and improvement that inherits,transforms and renews the former.In addition,we also agree that the argument about the principle of non-contradiction in Chapter four of Volume four is a kind of elenctic argument,however,we try to adopt a new way of interpreting which is different from T.H.Irwin,Robert Bolton and other scholars to re elaborate the establishment and defense strategy of the principle of non-contradiction,and further reveal the dialectical characteristics of this strategy,as well as the basic relationship between various first principles of metaphysics——mainly the principle of non-contradiction,the principle of substantial form in the sense of category and the principle of potential/reality.