that are numerous and well known; this is one of them.

As for the third argument he advanced for the existence of entities in external reality—namely, relations—and the claim that they can neither be co-located with the world nor spatially separate from it, its falsity is self-evident, established by sensory perception, and agreed upon by all rational people. It therefore merits no response. Some people have disputed matters they have not perceived, such as intellects and volitions. But regarding these perceptible concrete entities, no rational person has claimed that they contain things that are neither separate from something else nor co-located with it. Presented in this form, the argument merits no response. Nevertheless, we shall explain the nature of his ignorance so that the discussion may be fully beneficial.

We say: fatherhood consists in a human being’s having begotten another of his kind, and sonship in his being begotten by another of his kind, or something to this effect. Begetting is thus included in the meaning of fatherhood and sonship. That someone was begotten by another, or begot another, is a perceptible attribute subsisting in the parent and child. In reality, it is a positive attribute involving a relation.

As for being a paternal or maternal uncle, this involves two births: a person’s being begotten by his father, and his uncle’s being begotten by his grandfather. Being the son of a paternal uncle involves a third birth: the uncle’s begetting of his son. Thus, the branching of kinship involves multiple births, and one of these births may be