In asking for the cause of X's being, one cannot seek a middle term between the subject and predicate of 'X is' or 'X is X' without first unpacking the judgment into one with distinct subject and predicate
The class that contains all and only things that exist; proposed candidate for a highest kind.
cause(Philosophical definition of causation requiring both sufficiency and necessity of the cause relative to its effect)
An event or state of things such that (a) if it happens or exists, the effect must happen or exist even if no further conditions are fulfilled, and (b) the effect cannot happen or exist unless the cause happens or exists.
judgment(Russell and Ramsey's multiple-relation theory of judgment)
A multiple relation of the mind or mental factors to many objects — the constituents of the proposition judged — rather than a single relation to a single propositional object
middle term(Aristotle, Posterior Analytics II,2)
A term that mediates between the subject and predicate of a two-place judgment and serves as the cause explaining why the predicate belongs to the subject; its discovery constitutes scientific knowledge.
predicate(Logical/grammatical ontology in Eisagoge)
Either a sound signifying a meaning or a meaning signified by a certain sound
subject(Logical/grammatical ontology in Eisagoge)
Either a sound signifying a meaning or a meaning signified by a certain sound
unpacking(as used in philosophical analysis)
Breaking down a complex or compressed idea into smaller, simpler, more clearly separated parts so you can examine it better.
In all of this Fârâbî is broadly following the Aristotelian idea that, for any composite object X, we can ask “what is X?” and answer the question either by giving a definition of X spelling X out into many in-some-sense-constituents of X, or by giving some one such constituent of X, which is a partial answer to “what is X?”.[28] Fârâbî is also following Aristotle in insisting that all of the things which should be mentioned in the definition of X are causes of X’s being (“the thing by which [
Extraction notes
Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks