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Lull's Book of
Propositions
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2 - Investigating Particulars
As the senses, imagination, memory, and will are needed by the intellect in order to rise to universals,
as above, so they are likewise necessary for investigating
any required particular in the universal, as the intellect descends following the senses, imagination,
memory and will particularly through the terms of the figures
and the propositions of these terms so that neither the universal of the required particular is in any
way destroyed, nor the terms of the figures, nor their
propositions, but rather, they are entirely preserved.
The investigation of particulars in universals is sometimes done with T. alone, sometimes with T.A.
together, sometimes by adding figures to T.A., and sometimes
with T.S. or by adding figures to T.S., and likewise with all the other figures, always in the presence
of T., for otherwise nothing can be done with the figures. And
this is done with a greater or lesser number of figures in accordance with the genus and species of
the required particular which is discovered in some part of the
universal in concordance with other parts of this universal, as it is in concordance with the required
particular that it includes, and in opposition to the contrary to
this particular.
Just like the goodness of A. influences greatness, and the greatness of A. influences goodness, and
as through this likeness, being optimized in greatness and
magnified in goodness is produced in the Godhead, likewise the intellect investigates particulars by
influencing the will, memory, imagination and senses and vice
versa, and does so with the angles and cameras of T. and the cameras of A. S. V. etc. as well as the
propositions of T. and the other figures, and finds particulars
through the said likenesses and influences by matching one likeness with another and one influence with
another so that neither the universal nor any of its parts
are destroyed, but rather, all its parts are in concordance for preserving the universal in the particular
that must be found in it.
Note also that likewise, for investigating and discovering particulars the intellect must sometimes
descend from universal propositions to particular ones and then
rise again to universal propositions while it discovers the concordance existing between universal and
particular propositions without any contrariety, through the
method of affirmation and negation. And in Section Four there is an example given of the said methods
for finding particulars in the universal, namely in the
questions as stated in the previous chapter on investigating and forming universals.
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