View source for Categories (Aristotle)

{{italic title}}
{{short description|Text from Aristotle's Organon}}
The '''''Categories''''' ({{langx|grc|Κατηγορίαι|Katēgoriai}}; {{langx|la|Categoriae}} or {{lang|la|Praedicamenta}}) is a text from [[Aristotle]]'s ''[[Organon]]'' that enumerates all the possible kinds of things that can be the [[subject (grammar)|subject]] or the [[Predicate (grammar)|predicate]] of a [[proposition]].  They are "perhaps the single most heavily discussed of all Aristotelian notions".<ref>Smith, Robin 1995 "Logic". In J. Barnes (ed) ''The Cambridge companion to Aristotle'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 55.</ref> The work is brief enough to be divided not into books, as is usual with [[Corpus Aristotelicum|Aristotle's works]], but into fifteen chapters.

The ''Categories'' places every [[Object (philosophy)|object]] of human [[apprehension (understanding)|apprehension]] under one of ten categories (known to medieval writers as the Latin term {{lang|la|praedicamenta}}). Aristotle intended them to enumerate everything that can be expressed without composition or structure, thus anything that can be either the subject or the predicate of a proposition.

==The text==

===The antepraedicamenta===
The text begins with an explication of what Aristotle means by  "[[synonym]]ous", or [[wikt:univocal#English|univocal]] words, what is meant by "[[homonym]]ous", or [[wikt:equivocal#English|equivocal]] words, and what is meant by "[[paronym]]ous", or [[Wiktionary:denominative|denominative]] (sometimes translated "derivative") words.

It then divides forms of speech as being:
* Either simple, without composition or structure, such as "man", "horse", "fights".
* Or having composition and structure, such as "a man argued", "the horse runs".
Only composite forms of speech can be true or false.

Next, he distinguishes between what is said "of" a subject and what is "in" a subject.  What is said "of" a subject describes the kind of thing that it is as a whole, answering the question "what is it?"  What is said to be "in" a subject is a predicate that does not describe it as a whole but cannot exist without the subject, such as the shape of something.  The latter has come to be known as [[inherence]].

Of all the things that exist, 
# Some may be predicated (that is, said) of a subject, but are in no subject; as ''man'' may be predicated of James or John (one may say "John is a man"), but is not in any subject.
# Some are in a subject, but cannot be predicated of any subject. Thus, a certain individual point of grammatical knowledge is in me as in a subject, but it cannot be predicated of any subject; because it is an individual thing.
# Some are both in a subject and able to be predicated of a subject, for example [[science]], which is in the mind as in a subject, and may be predicated of [[geometry]] as of a subject ("Geometry is science").
# Last, some things neither can be in any subject nor can be predicated of any subject. These are ''individual substances'', which cannot be predicated, because they are individuals; and cannot be in a subject, because they are substances.

===The praedicamenta===
Then we come to the [[category of being|categories]] themselves, whose definitions depend upon these four forms of predication.<ref>The forms of predication were called by the medieval [[Scholasticism|scholastic philosophers]] the ''antepraedicamenta''.</ref><ref>Note, however, that although Aristotle has apparently distinguished between “being in a subject”, and “being predicated truly of a subject”, in the ''[[Prior Analytics]]'' these are treated as synonymous. This has led some to suspect that Aristotle was not the author of the ''Categories''{{Citation needed|date=June 2009}}.</ref> Aristotle's own text in Ackrill's standard English version is:{{sfnp|Ackrill|1963}}{{pn|reason=5|date=July 2025}}
<blockquote>
Of things said without any combination, each signifies either '''substance''' or '''quantity''' or '''qualification''' or a '''relative''' or '''where''' or '''when''' or '''being-in-a-position''' or '''having''' or '''doing''' or '''being-affected'''. To give a rough idea, examples of '''substance''' are man, horse; of '''quantity''': four-foot, five-foot; of '''qualification''': white, grammatical; of a '''relative''': double, half, larger; of '''where''': in the Lyceum, in the market-place; of '''when''': yesterday, last-year; of '''being-in-a-position''': is-lying, is-sitting; '''of having''': has-shoes-on, has-armour-on; '''of doing''': cutting, burning; of '''being-affected''': being-cut, being-burned. ([[Bekker numbers|1b25-2a4]])
</blockquote>

A brief explanation (with some alternative translations) is as follows:<ref>{{Citation|last=Thomasson|first=Amie|title=Categories|date=2019|url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2019/entries/categories/|work=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy|editor-last=Zalta|editor-first=Edward N.|edition=Summer 2019|publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University|access-date=2020-01-17}}</ref>
# '''[[Substance theory|Substance]]''' ({{lang|grc|οὐσία}}, ''ousia'', essence or substance).<ref>Note that while Aristotle's use of ''<span lang=el>ousia</span>'' is ambiguous between 'essence' and substance' there is a close link between them. See his [[Metaphysics (Aristotle)|''Metaphysics'']]</ref>  ''Substance'' is that which cannot be predicated of anything or be said to be in anything. Hence, ''this particular man'' or ''that particular tree'' are substances. Later in the text, Aristotle calls these particulars “primary substances”, to distinguish them from ''secondary substances'', which are universals and ''can'' be predicated. Hence, Socrates is a primary substance, while man is a secondary substance. ''Man'' is predicated of Socrates, and therefore all that is predicated of man is predicated of Socrates.
# '''[[Quantity]]''' ({{lang|grc|ποσόν}}, ''poson'', how much). This is the extension of an object, and may be either [[wiktionary:Discrete|discrete]] or [[wiktionary:Continuous|continuous]].  Further, its parts may or may not have relative positions to each other. All medieval discussions about the nature of the continuum, of the infinite and the infinitely divisible, are a long footnote to this text.  It is of great importance in the development of mathematical ideas in the medieval and late Scholastic period. Examples: two cubits long, number, space, (length of) time.
# '''Qualification''' or [[Quality (philosophy)|quality]] ({{lang|grc|ποιόν}}, ''poion'', of what kind or quality). This determination characterizes the nature of an object. Examples: white, black, grammatical, hot, sweet, curved, straight.
# '''Relative''' ({{lang|grc|πρός τι}}, ''pros ti'', toward something). This is the way one object may be related to another. Examples: double, half, large, master, knowledge.
# '''Where''' or [[Space|place]] ({{lang|grc|ποῦ}}, ''pou'', where). Position in relation to the surrounding environment. Examples: in a marketplace, in the Lyceum.
# '''When''' or [[time]] ({{lang|grc|πότε}}, ''pote'', when). Position in relation to the course of events. Examples: yesterday, last year.
# '''[[Relative position]]''', posture, attitude ({{lang|grc|κεῖσθαι}}, ''keisthai'', to lie). The examples Aristotle gives indicate that he meant a condition of rest resulting from an action: ''‘Lying’, ‘sitting’, ‘standing’.'' Thus ''position'' may be taken as the end point for the corresponding action. The term is, however, frequently taken to mean the relative position of the parts of an object (usually a living object), given that the position of the parts is inseparable from the state of rest implied.
# '''Having''' or state, [[Condition (philosophy)|condition]] ({{lang|grc|ἔχειν}}, ''echein'', to have or be). The examples Aristotle gives indicate that he meant a condition of rest resulting from an affection (i.e. being acted on): ''‘shod’, ‘armed’.'' The term is, however, frequently taken to mean the determination arising from the physical accoutrements of an object: one's shoes, one's arms, etc. Traditionally, this category is also called a ''habitus'' (from Latin ''habere'', to have).
# '''Doing''' or [[Action (philosophy)|action]] ({{lang|grc|ποιεῖν}}, ''poiein'', to make or do). The production of change in some other object (or in the agent itself ''qua'' other).
# '''Being affected''' or [[Affection (philosophy)|affection]] ({{lang|grc|πάσχειν}}, ''paschein'', to suffer or undergo). The reception of change from some other object (or from the affected object itself ''qua'' other). Aristotle's name ''paschein'' for this category has traditionally been translated into English as "affection" and "passion" (also "passivity"), easily misinterpreted to refer only or mainly to [[affection|affection as an emotion]] or to [[passion (emotion)|emotional passion]].  For action he gave the example, ''‘to lance’, ‘to cauterize’;'' for affection, ''‘to be lanced’, ‘to be cauterized.’'' His examples make clear that action is to affection as the active voice is to the passive voice — as ''acting'' is to ''being acted on''.

The first four are given a detailed treatment in four chapters, doing and being-affected are discussed briefly in a single small chapter, the remaining four are passed over lightly, as being clear in themselves. Later texts by scholastic philosophers also reflect this disparity of treatment.{{Citation needed|date=June 2009}}

===The postpraedicamenta===
In this part,<ref>This part was probably not part of the original text, but added by some unknown editor, {{Harvtxt|Ackrill|1963}} pp. 69—70</ref> Aristotle sets forth four ways things can be said to be opposed. Next, the work discusses five senses wherein a thing may be considered ''prior'' to another, followed by a short section on simultaneity. Six forms of movement are then defined: generation, destruction, increase, diminution, alteration, and change of place. The work ends with a brief consideration of the word 'have' and its usage.

== See also ==

* {{annotated link|Categories (Stoic)}}
* {{annotated link|Categorization}}
* {{annotated link|Category (disambiguation)}}
* {{annotated link|Category (Kant)}}
* {{annotated link|Category of being}}
* {{annotated link|Isagoge}}
* {{annotated link|Nyaya#Sixteen categories (padārthas)}}
* {{annotated link|Padārtha}}
* {{annotated link|Schema (Kant)}}
* {{annotated link|Simplicius of Cilicia}}
* {{annotated link|Vaisheshika#The Categories or Padārtha}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|2}}

==References==
*{{Cite book
  | last = Ackrill
  | first = John
  | author-link = J. L. Ackrill
  | title = Aristotle, Categories and De Interpretatione
  | year = 1963
  | publisher = At the Clarendon Press
  | place = Oxford
  | isbn = 0198720866
  | url = https://archive.org/details/categoriesdeinte00aris_0
  | format = pdf
  | url-access = registration
  }}
*{{cite book
 | last = Aristotle
 | author-link = Aristotle
 | chapter = Categories
 | editor-last  = Barnes
 | editor-first = Jonathan
 | editor-link   = Jonathan Barnes 
 | year = 2014
 | title = The Complete Works of Aristotle, 2 vols
 | others = Transl. [[J. L. Ackrill]]
 | publisher = [[Princeton University Press]]
 | location =  Princeton
 | url = https://press.princeton.edu/titles/10410.html
 | isbn = 9781400852765
 | format = One-Volume Digital Edition
 | pages = 2510
}}
*{{Cite book
  | last = Aristotle
  | author-link = Aristotle
  | title = Categoriae et Liber de Interpretatione
  | editor = L. Minio-Paluello
  | year = 1936
  | publisher = Oxford University Press
  | place = Oxford
  | isbn = 9780198145073
  }}
*{{Cite book
  | last = Aristotle
  | author-link = Aristotle
  | title = Categories; On Interpretation; Prior Analytics
  | editor = H. P. Cooke, Hugh Tredennick
  | year = 1938
  | series = Loeb Classical Library 325
  | publisher = Harvard University Press
  | place = Cambridge, MA
  | isbn = 9780674993594
  }}

==External links==
{{commonscat}}
{{EB1911 poster|Category}}
===Text and translations===
* {{wikisource-inline|Categories (Owen)}}
* {{wikisourcelang-inline|el|Κατηγορίαι}}
* 1930 "Oxford" translation by [[Ella Mary Edghill|E. M. Edghill]]
** Classical Library [http://www.classicallibrary.org/aristotle/categories/index.htm HTML] 
** MIT Classical Archive [https://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/categories.html HTML]
* 1963 translation by J. L. Ackrill, Chapters 1-5 [https://faculty.washington.edu/smcohen/520/Cats1-5.pdf PDF]
* {{librivox book | title=Categories | author=ARISTOTLE}}

===Commentary===
* ''[https://www.ontology.co/aristotle-categories.htm Aristotle's Theory of Categories]'' with an extensive bibliography
* {{cite SEP |url-id=aristotle-categories |title=Aristotle's Categories |last=Studtmann |first=Paul}}

{{Aristotelianism}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Works by Aristotle]]
[[Category:Logic literature]]
[[Category:Philosophical categories]]