Welcome to the Classical Liberal Arts Academy. In this lecture, Academy Headmaster William Michael presents Chapter 1 of Porphyry’s Introduction (Isagoge)—the classic opening to the study of logic that shaped Western philosophy and education for more than a thousand years.
Porphyry (c. 234–305 AD), a Greek philosopher and student of Plotinus, wrote the Introduction as a commentary on Aristotle’s Categories. In this first chapter, he explains the necessity of understanding the five predicables—Genus, Difference, Species, Peculiarity, and Accident—which are the essential tools of reasoning, definition, and demonstration. He also sets the boundaries of his study, choosing not to enter the profound metaphysical questions about the reality of universals, questions that later became central to medieval Scholastic debates.
Students will learn:
Why Porphyry begins with logic before metaphysics
The meaning and function of the five predicables
The distinction between logical and metaphysical inquiry
How the Isagoge prepared students for Aristotle and the Scholastic tradition
Course: TRV-371 Classical Reasoning I
Text: Porphyry, Introduction (Isagoge), Chapter 1
Instructor: William Michael, Headmaster, Classical Liberal Arts Academy
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