在古希腊哲学中,范畴是指存在的最基本的类型和划分单位,一般被称作“存在的种”。它是构成哲学体系的基础或元素,有多少种存在,根据什么理论原则和指导方法,或从什么角度对存在进行恰当地分类,成了哲学家思考形而上学问题的出发点。对于这个问题的不同理解可以充分体现出各种哲学不同的立场和不同的特征。自从亚里士多德建立了哲学史上第一个真正意义上的范畴体系之后,范畴体系的建构原则问题一直是哲学讨论的主题之一。概括起来,大致有三种观点: 第一,以亚里士多德和晚期希腊注释家波菲利(Porphyry)为代表的经验主义的逻辑谓词原则; In ancient Greek philosophy, category refers to the most basic type of existence and division of units, generally referred to as “the species of Being.” It is the basis or element of the philosophical system, the existence of many kinds, the proper classification according to which theoretical principles and guiding methods, or the angles from which the philosophers think about the metaphysics. Different understanding of this issue can fully reflect the different philosophical positions and different characteristics. Since Aristotle established the first real category system in the history of philosophy, the issue of the principle of category system construction has always been one of the main topics of philosophical discussion. To summarize, there are basically three kinds of views: first, the empiricist predicate of logic represented by Aristotle and late Greek commentator Porphyry;