Autor: Lonergan, Bernard J.F.

Buch: Understanding and Being

Titel: Understanding and Being

Stichwort: allgemeine Form des reflektiven Verstehens, Urteil; das bedingte Unbedingte; Syllogismus

Kurzinhalt: virtually unconditioned; if A, then B; but A; therefore B; Funktion des Syllogismus; Gründung der Prämisse von wenn A, dann B im Prozess des Denkens selbst

Textausschnitt: () The general form of the grasp of the virtually unconditioned may be put syllogistically: If A, then B; but A; therefore B, where A and B severally represent one or more propositions. In the major, B is presented as a conditioned: If A, then B. In the minor, the condition is fulfilled: A. We have the conclusion because the combination of major and minor exhibits B as virtually unconditioned.
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<Die Funktion des Syllogismus> is that it puts into form the object of reflective understanding. Reflective understanding is aided by the syllogistic form of exposition because the syllogism exhibits the conclusion, the prospective judgment, the conditioned, as a virtually unconditioned.
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In other words, if A and B, as representing the conditions and conditioned in a virtually unconditioned, must always be judgments, then we are driven back to an infinity of prior judgments before we can have one. There has to be an infinity, because every final judgment, every judgment B, depends upon other judgments. If, however, we can find A and the major premise, If A, then B, within the prior process of knowing, and reflective understanding capable of using A and B as they exist in this prior state, then we can get the judgment.