Jeff asked:

I'm reading Aristotle's Topics. In it, he says that all propositions or problems consist of an assertion of
either a definition, a property, a genus or an accident. Assuming he is right, wouldn't it be useful for
children and adults to grow up learning that what we say can be divided into these four categories?
Wouldn't it clear up our thinking, talking, debating, arguing, etc., to have this as an understood basis
on which to begin? I don't get why Aristotle's teachings are not on the lips of every talker in our
society.

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The short answer is that not every philosopher agrees with Aristotle. So why teach something to your
kids that you don't agree with? The slightly longer answer is that sure, Aristotle came up with four
categories which seem reasonable, but you yourself, and others, can and have come up with many
other ways to categorize propositions. Which are correct? Well, probably most of them... depending
on what you want to use them for. So then the question becomes, not necessarily how to categorize
propositions, problems, sensations, thoughts, emotions, objects.... and on and on. The question splits
into things like: what isit to categorize? what does that mean? howdoes one go about it in a way
that's usefulto some specific endeavor? shouldwe attempt to find "universal" categories? why even
think in such terms?

And what kindof thinking, generally, is a good way to go about doing the abovekind of thinking? That
is, how do we teach our kids, not so much to use someone else'scategories, but to think of their own,
in constructive ways? I, for one, would be much more interested in teaching the latter rather than
teaching a fixed set of forms to apply to situations that Aristotle could not have dreamed of.

Steven Ravett Brown

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