Problem Set 12 – William Passarini

Identify what kind of definition the following definitions of “man” or “human” are. Are the
following definitions of a human: (a) nominal or real? If real, are they (b) logical, (c)
descriptive, or (d) causal? And if the definition is causal, which causes are contained in the
definition: material, formal, efficient, or final cause?
1. Real, logical
2. Real, logical
3. Real, logical
4. Real, descriptive
5. Real,
6. Real, final cause
7. Nominal
8. Real, logical
9. Real, logical
10. Real, logical
11. Real, logical
12. Real, logical
13. Real, logical
14. Real, logical
15. Real, descriptive
16. Real, descriptive
17. Real, descriptive
18. Real, descriptive

Analyze each of the following definitions taken from original sources. Note that all
definitions here are real definitions; there are no nominal definitions. (a) Underline the thing
defined (definiendum). (b) Circle the definition itself (definiens). (c) Indicate what kind of
definition it is: nominal, logical, causal (which kind of cause), or descriptive. (d) If there is
more than one definition in the passage, treat each definition separately.

1. “Rationalization may be defined as faulty thinking which serves to disguise or hide the
unconscious motives of behavior and feeling.” (Percival M. Symonds, 20th-cen. American
psychologist, The Dynamics of Human Adjustment) - final causal? Faulty thinking (genus)
which serves to... (goal; final cause)
2. “Law is whatever is boldly asserted and plausibly maintained.” (Aaron Burr, 18th-cen.
American politician of dubious character, Memoirs, 2:14) - descriptive
3. “All atoms consist of very small solid nuclei (diameter 10– 12 cm) and extended outer
shells (diameter 10– 8 cm).” (C. F. von Weizsaecker, 20th-cen. German physicist) -
descriptive
4. The extremities of lines are points. (Euclid, ca. 300 b.c., Elements of Geometry) -
descriptive
5. “The basic idea that gives to the word ‘democracy’ its original and latent meaning is the
idea of a social group organized and directed by all of its members for the benefit of all its
members.” (Ralph Barton Perry, 20th-cen. American philosopher) - social group (genus?)
directed... (difference); for the benefit... (final cause) - final causal
6. “Accordingly, when a man is said to have the grace of God, there is signified something
supernatural bestowed on man by God.” (Aquinas, Summa Theologiae I-II, q. 110, a. 1.) -
causal, Agent
7. “The nucleus of the hydrogen atom is called a proton. This particle has a positive charge
equal numerically to the negative electric charge of the electron and is so small that it takes
2.72 × 1026 to make a pound. The nuclei of atoms of other substances contain a number of
protons equal to the atomic number of the element.” (U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, ca.
1965) - first, nominal definition; second, descriptive
8. “Love is nothing else but an insatiate thirst of enjoying a greedily desired object.” (Michel
de Montaigne, 17th-cen. French philosopher, Essays, vol. 3) - descriptive
9. “A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson, 19th-cen.
American author, Essays: First Series) - descriptive? Or logical?
10. “The whole of government consists in the art of being honest.” (Thomas Jefferson, A
Summary View of the Rights of British America, 1774) ?
11. “Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has
thought.” (Attributed to Albert Szent-Gyorgy, 20th-cen. Hungarian scientist, Nobel Prize) -
descriptive
12. “In science, the Apollonian tends to develop established lines to perfection, while the
Dionysian rather relies on intuition and is more likely to open new, unexpected alleys for
research. . . . The future of mankind depends on the progress of science, and the progress of
science depends on the support it can find. Support mostly takes the form of grants, and the
present methods of distributing grants unduly favor the Apollonian.” (What Szent-Gyorgy
actually said, Science, no. 176 [1972]) - all descriptive
13. “Beauty is an emotional element, a pleasure of ours, which nevertheless we regard as a
quality of things.” (George Santayana, 20th-cen. Spanish philosopher, The Sense of Beauty) -
descriptive
14. “Compromise used to mean that half a loaf was better than no bread. Among modern
statesmen it really seems to mean that half a loaf is better than a whole loaf.” (G. K.
Chesterton, What’s Wrong with the World, 1910, chapter 3) - both descriptive