In Smell, as in the other senses, it is necessary to distinguish between the sensation itself and its object, which, in ordinary language, are not unfrequently confounded together. Thus we speak of the organ of smell, and of the smell of a rose, using the same term indifferently to signify the act of inhaling an … Continue reading The true object of smell is to be found in the odorous particles
Tag: aristotle
The cause of change
A short analysis of the principal subjects treated of in the Metaphysics of Aristotle will serve to exhibit the details of the former method, as far as our present limits will permit, the unchanging principle of all change and motion. Sensible substances, the objects of physical science, are subject to change; and all change implies … Continue reading The cause of change
What is the relation of self-evidence to reality?
As the metaphysical writings of Aristotle and his followers are likely to be but little known to the majority of modern readers, it may be useful to add a brief account of the ancient method of treating the subject, which will serve at the same time to exhibit more clearly the chasm which separates the … Continue reading What is the relation of self-evidence to reality?
The laws of things and the laws of thought
If Aristotle for a moment grasped the important truth, that the laws of things and the laws of thought were alike objects of metaphysical inquiry, the conviction produced hardly any result in the details of his treatment: his psychology allied itself chiefly to physics: his metaphysics, after its introductory chapter, deserted the track of psychology. … Continue reading The laws of things and the laws of thought
The Philosophy of Consciousness
Metaphysics has been defined by Aristotle (and the definition may be for the present provisionally accepted) as the science which contemplates being as being, and the attributes which belong to it as such. The latter definition, while verbally resembling the former, exhibits, in fact, an important modification of it; for it implies that the progress … Continue reading The Philosophy of Consciousness