--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But in the prevalent discussion of…" description: "\"But in the prevalent discussion of classes, there are illegitimate transitions to the notions of a 'nexus' and of a 'proposition'. The appeal to a clas..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17a/alfred-north-whitehead-836_appeals_but-in-the-prevalent-discussion-of-class_2820210.png" --- # But in the prevalent discussion of classes, there are… ![“But in the prevalent discussion of classes, there are illegitimate transitions to the notions of a 'nexus' and of a 'proposition'. The appeal to a class to perform the services of a proper entity is exactly analogous to an appeal to an imaginary terrier to kill a real rat. Process and Reality” quote by Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17a/alfred-north-whitehead-836_appeals_but-in-the-prevalent-discussion-of-class_2820210.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17a/alfred-north-whitehead-836_appeals_but-in-the-prevalent-discussion-of-class_2820210.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17a/alfred-north-whitehead-836_appeals_but-in-the-prevalent-discussion-of-class_2820210.png) > “But in the prevalent discussion of classes, there are illegitimate transitions to the notions of a 'nexus' and of a 'proposition'. The appeal to a class to perform the services of a proper entity is exactly analogous to an appeal to an imaginary terrier to kill a real rat. Process and Reality” [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Treating classes as entities is a category error, like asking a dog to kill a rat. **In simple terms:** Misusing categories leads to error. Key Takeaway Clarify conceptual categories. Themes philosophy logic metaphysics Mood analytical thoughtful Type academic philosophical When to use this quote - Philosophical debates - education Key Concepts Analytical reasoning academic discourse Questions to Reflect On - How do you avoid category errors? - What examples illustrate this? A Different Perspective Complex ideas can be misapplied. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Terriers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terriers/) [Transition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transition/) ## Related quotes > [“Every dog deserves a place to live. Every dog deserves a place in your heart. Every dog deserves a place to walk. Every dog…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-duncan/every-dog-deserves-a-place-to-live-every-dog-deserves-a-place-in-your/) John Duncan > [I have two Jack Russell terriers, Harley and Gracie, who I like to go running with in the park.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-hilty/i-have-two-jack-russell-terriers-harley-and-gracie-who-i-like-to-go/) [Megan Hilty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-hilty/) > [It sometimes takes days, even weeks, before a dog's nerves tire. In the case of terriers it can run into months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/it-sometimes-takes-days-even-weeks-before-a-dog-s-nerves-tire-in-the/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [“Terriers usually have their own agenda, kind of like cats, only with a lot more pointless animation. - Sydney Linden”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-j-hunter/terriers-usually-have-their-own-agenda-kind-of-like-cats-only-with-a/) S.J. Hunter > [Ted Griffin, who created 'Terriers,' is one of my dearest friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-mcdonough/ted-griffin-who-created-terriers-is-one-of-my-dearest-friends/) [Neal McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-mcdonough/) > [Things that upset a terrier may pass virtually unnoticed by a Great Dane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smiley-blanton/things-that-upset-a-terrier-may-pass-virtually-unnoticed-by-a-great/) [Smiley Blanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smiley-blanton/) > [(Scottish Terriers) have all the compactness of a small dog and all the valor of a big one. And they are so exceedingly sturdy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/scottish-terriers-have-all-the-compactness-of-a-small-dog-and-all-the/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [If the terriers and bariffs are torn down, this economy will grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/if-the-terriers-and-bariffs-are-torn-down-this-economy-will-grow/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Society is infected with rude, cynical, restless, and frivolous persons who prey upon the rest, and whom no public opinion concentrated into good manners,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/society-is-infected-with-rude-cynical-restless-and-frivolous-persons/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Once you've got a bull terrier, you never want another dog. I've got six bull terriers, a rottweiler and a bulldog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-dicks/once-you-ve-got-a-bull-terrier-you-never-want-another-dog-i-ve-got/) Julian Dicks > [Truth is a rough, honest, helter-skelter terrier that none like to see brought into their drawing rooms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ouida/truth-is-a-rough-honest-helter-skelter-terrier-that-none-like-to-see/) [Ouida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ouida/) > [I like extremely effeminate dogs like terriers or schnauzers. I make an exception for giant schnauzers and big poodles. Basically, I like dogs which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-meades/i-like-extremely-effeminate-dogs-like-terriers-or-schnauzers-i-make/) [Jonathan Meades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-meades/) > [He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/he-is-your-friend-your-partner-your-defender-your-dog-you-are-his/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [Many people have heard the remarkable example of devotion involving a Skye terrier dog who worked for a Scottish shepherd named Old Jock. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-moussaieff-masson/many-people-have-heard-the-remarkable-example-of-devotion-involving-a/) [Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-moussaieff-masson/) > [I like Yorkshire terriers. They're good to wash your car with. They fit right in the bucket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billiam-coronel/i-like-yorkshire-terriers-they-re-good-to-wash-your-car-with-they-fit/) Billiam Coronel ## More by Alfred North Whitehead > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Philosophy begins in wonder. And, at the end, when philosophic thought has done its best, the wonder remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/philosophy-begins-in-wonder-and-at-the-end-when-philosophic-thought/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The pursuit of mathematics is a divine madness of the human spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-pursuit-of-mathematics-is-a-divine-madness-of-the-human-spirit/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Without adventure all civilization is full of decay. Adventure rarely reaches its predetermined end. Columbus never reached China.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/without-adventure-all-civilization-is-full-of-decay-adventure-rarely/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Aristotle discovered all the half-truths which were necessary to the creation of science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/aristotle-discovered-all-the-half-truths-which-were-necessary-to-the/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [On the ostensible exactitude of certain branches of human knowledge, including mathematics. The exactness is a fake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/on-the-ostensible-exactitude-of-certain-branches-of-human-knowledge/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [It is this union of passionate interest in the detailed facts with equal devotion to abstract generalisation which forms the novelty in our present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/it-is-this-union-of-passionate-interest-in-the-detailed-facts-with/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Our minds are finite, and yet even in these circumstances of infinitude we are surrounded by possibilities that are infinite, and the purpose of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/our-minds-are-finite-and-yet-even-in-these-circumstances-of/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The many become one and are increased by one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-many-become-one-and-are-increased-by-one/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience, and our aesthetic enjoyment is recognition of the pattern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/art-is-the-imposing-of-a-pattern-on-experience-and-our-aesthetic/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The future belongs to those who can rise above the confines of the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-future-belongs-to-those-who-can-rise-above-the-confines-of-the/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Common sense is genius in homespun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/common-sense-is-genius-in-homespun/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Everyone is a philosopher. Not everyone is good at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/everyone-is-a-philosopher-not-everyone-is-good-at-it/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Do not teach too many subjects and what you teach, teach thoroughly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/do-not-teach-too-many-subjects-and-what-you-teach-teach-thoroughly/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking about them. Operations of thought are cavalry charges in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/civilization-advances-by-extending-the-number-of-important-operations/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) [Explore all 356 Alfred North Whitehead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) ## More Appeals quotes > [Quotations can be valuable, like raisins in the rice pudding, for adding iron as well as eye appeal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peg-bracken/quotations-can-be-valuable-like-raisins-in-the-rice-pudding-for/) [Peg Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peg-bracken/) > [If Robert Heinlein is more to your taste than George Lucas: “If you are part of a society that votes, then do so. 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Our minds ring, involuntarily, with the alluring names of mountains, aiguilles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-rebuffat/the-ascent-of-any-route-begins-in-dreams-at-least-the-autumn-before/) [Gaston Rebuffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-rebuffat/) > [I sometimes find that my family's emphasis on stories, characters, and art that appeals directly to children rather than over their heads to adults…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-berenstain/i-sometimes-find-that-my-family-s-emphasis-on-stories-characters-and/) [Mike Berenstain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-berenstain/) > [Vice is its own reward. It is virtue which, if it is to be marketed with consumer appeal, must carry Green Shield stamps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/vice-is-its-own-reward-it-is-virtue-which-if-it-is-to-be-marketed/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [In my early teens, science fiction and fantasy had an almost-total hold over my imagination. Their outcast status was part of their appeal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-kunzru/in-my-early-teens-science-fiction-and-fantasy-had-an-almost-total/) [Hari Kunzru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-kunzru/) > [The fact is that there is a profound spiritual hunger in the western world which, for a variety of reasons, its church is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-phillips/the-fact-is-that-there-is-a-profound-spiritual-hunger-in-the-western/) [Melanie Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-phillips/) > [People can talk about punk all they want, but after new wave put that down, metal is the voice of the disenfranchised and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-taylor/people-can-talk-about-punk-all-they-want-but-after-new-wave-put-that/) [Corey Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-taylor/) > [Appeal to all scholars of stupidity in the world. 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