Univocity of being

Univocal expressions are linguistic expressions that are used with the same meaning sense.

For example, " ... is a piece of furniture " of chairs and tables in exactly the same sense testified that while " ... is a bank " is predicated of financial institutions and seating in a very different sense. The latter is a so-called equivocal expression. Is a special situation when, for example, " ... is healthy " is predicated of a man or of a foodstuff. Such speech is often referred to as analog.

At least since Aristotle is particularly discussed whether different categories and in particular "being" univocal, equivocal, or is predicated analogously of different object types. Need to explain many philosophers and theologians appeared in particular, how the speech of limited items at the mention of a first base or the divine each other behaves. While many theorists of the 12th and 13th centuries argued for an analogy, it appeared, inter alia, Duns Scotus necessary that must be analyzed in a basic sense of "being" as a univocal, in each case to maintain a unity of ontology and epistemology. (See to these debates in more detail the representation in analogy (philosophy ) and the literature cited therein. )