Redundancy, definition and predication: Some lessons from Topics VI3

This paper is concerned with the strategy that Aristotle devises in his Topics to deal with an opponent trying to override a definition on the basis of its saying the same thing twice (or even several times). On the one hand, it is argued that Aristotle's overall strategy owes less to specific features of definition itself than to the properties it shares with predication in general. On the other hand, it is shown that Aristotle's solution relies on a particular dialectical skill which may prove useful in diagnosing other related troubles, especially the erroneous inferences outlined in De Interpretatione 11. It is argued that both prima facie redundant definitions and illicit compound predicates are elucidated by uncovering the hidden predicative character of some chains of terms.