Now Knowledge is a conception concerning
universals and Necessary matter, and there are of
course certain First Principles in all trains of demonstrative
reasoning (that is of all Knowledge because this is
connected with reasoning): that faculty, then,
which takes in the first principles of that which
comes under the range of Knowledge, cannot be either
Knowledge, or Art, or Practical Wisdom: not Knowledge,
because what is the object of Knowledge must be derived
from demonstrative reasoning; not either of the other
two, because they are exercised upon Contingent matter
only. [Sidenote: 1141a] Nor can it be Science
which takes in these, because the Scientific Man must
in some cases depend on demonstrative Reasoning.
It comes then to this: since
the faculties whereby we always attain truth and are
never deceived when dealing with matter Necessary or
even Contingent are Knowledge, Practical Wisdom, Science,
and Intuition, and the faculty which takes in First
Principles cannot be any of the three first; the last,
namely Intuition, must be it which performs this function.
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