Science Forums 2

[coberst]

Aristotle concludes that to perceive something is to actualize that form into mind. Aristotle is “using the common metaphors The Mind is a Container, Understanding is Grasping, and Ideas are Physical Objects.”

From all of this Aristotle created what we might call “container logic”. He equates predication with ‘inclusion’ within a category; he provides us with the implicit metaphor Predication is Containment.

“Containers are image schemas with logical constraints built into their very structure. They are not physical containers, but rather conceptualizations that we impose on space.” Some of these constraints are:
• Given a container and an entity, the entity is either inside or outside and not both at once.
• If Container A is inside Container B, and Entity C is inside Container A, then Entity C is inside Container B.
• If Container A is inside Container B and Entity C is outside Container B, then Entity C is outside Container A.

All of these form the basis for the well known logical principles “The Law of Excluded Middle”, “Modus Ponens”, and “Modus Tollens”. These laws form the basics of syllogisms, which is the fundamental form of reasoning. The syllogism is the central engine of scientific explanation.

Quotes from “Philosophy in the Flesh” Lakoff and Johnson