§11 [33-34]
27
συνώνυμον—univocum, "univocal," ὄνομα κοινὸν (...) λόγος (...) ὁ αὐτός [" the name in common and the same logos"] (Cat. 1, 1a7).
παρώνυμα—denominativum, "derived in meaning," ὄσα ἀπό τινος διαφέροντα τῇ πτώσει τὴν κατὰ τοὔνομα προσηγορίαν ἔχει ["deriving its name by changing the inflection of a related word"] (Cat. 1, 1a12f.), γραμματικὸς ἀπὸ γραμματικῆς ["'grammarian' from the word 'grammar'"] (cf. Cat. 1, 1a14).
The ambiguity in the basic concepts, what it signifies and why it is necessary, is not given its own theoretical consideration. Aristotle merely exhibits it factically, though indeed not in an arbitrary enumeration, but by proceeding from the closest, everyday meaning and ascending to the principal meanings, while also fixing the respects in which those meanings are articulated.
ἀρχή—here Aristotle gives the term a much broader and more diverse meaning, on a background which was clarified in Met. A.
1. The beginning, that with which something takes its departure, the beginning of a way, of a footpath (1012b34-1013a1).
2. The correct first step, the starting point for learning something, which does not lie in what is highest (the principles) but in what is closest. Examples (1013a1-4).
3. That with which the emergence of something starts, the "foundation" for a building, the keel for a ship, the groundwork, ἐνυπάρχον ["constituent principle"] (cf. 1013a4), specifically such that this "beginning" remains in the thing, is an integral part of it (1013a4-7).
4. That from which the motion emanates, something which is not itself what is in motion or becomes, which remains outside and does not co-constitute the being itself, μὴ ἐνυπάρχον ["not a constituent"] (cf. 1013a7), but which does cause the motion: the impetus. Father and mother for a child, strife for a battle (1013a7-10).
5. That which, by its own decisions and plans, brings something else into motion, thus by leading, guiding, directing, dominating. Such are kings and tyrants, also sciences higher in rank than others, πολιτική ["politics"], ἀρχιτεκτονική ["architecture"] (1013a10-14).
6. That from which something is primarily known. In a proof, the axioms, the principles (1013a14ff.). That which is common:36 the first, the whence, in a particular sense the earlier than, τὸ πρῶτον εἶναι ὅθεν ["to be the first whence"] (1013a18), in the various orders of Being and of becoming, emerging, coming to be known. Formal concept of ἀρχή: the first "whence" . . . , the last "back whither." That structure: formal sense of orienting, directing, starting, determining.37 Cf. Met. A 17, 1022a12: ἀρχή is πέρας τι, "limit."
36. See Morchen transcription, no. 9, p. 174.
37. See Supplement no. 1, p. 159.