Aristotle's On Interpretation Ch. 5 : On the kind of speech that reveals something about the world
(17a8-17a24) Ch. 5 On the kind of speech that reveals something about the world
The main focus of our present investigation is what Aristotle names apophantic speech (λόγος ἀποφαντικὸς). The term apophantic derives from the ancient Greek verb ἀποφαίνω which we may translate in English as to reveal, to show or to declare. The philosopher for his part differentiates this form of λόγος from all the others as the one which asserts what is or is not, the one which reveals a meaning that may only be true or false.
Aristotle understands each instance of apophantic speech to be a free-standing, self-contained unity. As such, he identifies two main apophantic unities. Namely, (i) the simple assertion (ἁπλῆ ἀπόφανσις) and (ii) the compound assertion (σύνθετη ἀπόφανσις).
(i) a simple assertion declares one single thing. To be more precise, it either affirms or denies something of something. In the first case, it is an affirmation (κατάφασις), in the second case a negation (ἀπόφασις). An example of an affirmation is “the horse runs” and one of a negation is “the horse does not run”.
If a unity of apophantic speech presents itself as a simple assertion, yet declares more than one thing, it is not a simple assertion.
(ii) a compound assertion is no more than two or more simple assertions which come together as a unity by virtue of conjunctions such as “and” or “not”. An example of a compound assertion is “the horse is running, not resting”.
A cluster of two or more affirmations or negations without conjunctions never constitutes a unity.
The combination of a verb or verb tense as necessary condition
Composite speech instances without verbs are never apophantic speech. Only the inclusion of a verb or verb tense may constitute composite speech apophantic. To illustrate, where a definition (λόγος τῆς οὐσίας) forms a unity of composite speech, it lacks a verb and, as such, falls outside apophantic speech.
We may thus differentiate between two instances of composite speech which are able to form unities (i) those composite speech instances with verbs and (ii) those without verbs. The former include, yet are not limited to, unities of apophantic speech such as “a horse runs”. The latter combine only nouns and noun declensions such as a definition of e.g. a horse as “four-footed, terrestrial, living being”. No combination of only verbs or tenses may form a free-standing unity.
Now, apophantic speech (λόγος ἀποφαντικὸς), like any composite speech, is meaningful and combines simple speech instances, i.e. nouns and verbs, which hold meaning on their own. The verb or verb tense in a simple assertion (ἀπόφανσις) situates the entire assertion either in the present, past or future.
The utterance as a part of an assertion
Any part of an assertion (ἀπόφανσις) which falls short of the criteria to stand as a self-contained apophantic unity, Aristotle calls an utterance (φάσις). This includes single nouns (e.g. horse), or verbs (e.g. runs), or composite speech instances which either do not include at least one noun or at least one verb (e.g. a definition such as “two-footed, land, animal”).
Key points: (i) each instance of apophantic speech is a free-standing, self-contained unity. It is a combination of simple speech instances such as nouns and verbs. (ii) We may differentiate between two unities of apophantic speech, (a) the simple assertion and (b) the compound assertion. (iii) a simple assertion may either be (a) a negation or (b) an affirmation. A negation denies something of something. An affirmation affirms something of something. In any case, a simple assertion may only declare one thing. When more than one things are declared, then the apophantic speech instance is not a unity (iv) a compound assertion is no more than two or more simple assertions joined as a unity by virtue of conjunctions such as “and” and “not”. When more than one assertions are put next to each other without conjunctions, then they do not form a unity. (v) a composite speech instance without a verb is never apophantic speech. (vi) any part of any assertion which falls short of being an assertion itself we call an utterance.
