An introductory text-book of logic - Mellone, Sydney - Rare Books at ...

AND THE LAWS OF THOUGHT. 23
same way, as "round" and "square,"
"many,"
"
round,"
"one"
and
"red" and "green"; while "red" and
"
large
"
and
"
square," &c., are perfectly
compatible. The opposition of positive and negative
names approaches more nearly to that of contradictory
names. In those, the formation of the words indicates
that the opposition is one of the presence and absence
of a certain quality. Names which indicate contrasted
classes, "British" and "male" and "foreign,"
"female,"
&c., arc analogous to positive and negative names; and
these are a frequent type of contrary opposition. But
the different kinds of opposition which pairs of contrary
names express, depend on the things denoted by the
names, and our understanding of the opposition depends
on our knowledge of the things. Logic can give no
general account of all the types of contrariety. Hence
contrary opposition is real or material, while contra
dictory opposition is formal,
5. Names may also be divided into relative and
absolute.
A relative name has been defined as denoting an
object which cannot be thought of without reference to
another object, or can only be thought of as part of a
larger whole. But in this sense, there are no non-
relative or absolute names. Everything
other things, even on a superficial view;
is related to
and if we
imagine ourselves to be knowing or investigating its
connections as completely as possible, "root and all,
and all in all,"
would be
its relations to other things
found to have increased in extent and complexity, the
further our knowledge had penetrated.
Hence every conception which we form is relative to
we are
something else ; whenever we think of a thing
distinguishing it from other things. We think of a