Logic as the Science of the Pure ConceptCroce, Benedetto
Philosophy
Logic as the Science of the Pure Concept
Croce, Benedetto
Logic
Logic, in our opinion, should reject this demand, the origin of
which lies in the confusion between thought in general and thought
as the science of thought. The categories are certainly affirmed in
the individual judgment, but Logic, as the science of thought, does
not undertake to formulate judgments which will say what are the
predicable terms, the ultimate or pure concepts, the categories, with
which reality is thought. Logic cannot claim to substitute itself for
the other philosophic sciences and itself to solve all the problems
which offer themselves to thought as to the nature of reality. Its
scope is to define categories and to formulate judgments _only on that
aspect of Reality, which is logical thought._ It is, therefore, under
the obligation to face the question as to whether there be logical
categories, supreme concepts or supreme predicables from the point of
view of logic, and if there be, to indicate and to deduce them. It is
not obliged to indicate and to deduce all the supreme predicables and
categories.
[Sidenote: _The uniqueness of the logical category: the concept._]
Now we have already treated of the question as to the categories
of Logic and have solved it, partly affirmatively, partly in the
negative. That is to say, we have denied to Logic a multiplicity
of categories, since the three fundamental categories, usually
given as concept, judgment, and syllogism, have been revealed to be
identical. The others, derived from formalist Logic and relating to
classes of concepts, to forms of judgments and to figures of the
syllogism (and even these three preceding, if they are taken as
separable or distinguishable), have been shown to be empirical and
arbitrary. Finally, those that were based upon the gnoseology of the
pseudoconcepts have shown themselves to be extraneous to pure Logic.
On the other hand, we have affirmed the category proper to Logic,--the
unique category to which it gives rise. It has been defined as the
pure concept, at once judgment of definition and individual judgment,
the logical _a priori_ synthesis. Thus the enquiry can be looked upon
as exhaustive as regards this part of the subject.
[Sidenote: _The other categories. No longer logical, but real. Systems
of categories._]
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