A necessary but not sufficient tapenade

Aristotle, student of Plato, instructor to Alexander the Great, philosopher, logician and scientist and one of the original political theorists.  May we suggest as a starter Aristotle’s concept of necessary and sufficient conditions. Because he was Greek, this appetizer will be Greek.  The appetizer we have in mind is a necessary — but not sufficient — tapenade.  

Aristotle supplied some of the ideas foundational to modern thought. He also had some pretty bad ideas. He believed that the female form was an incomplete version of the male form or ”a deformed man”  But misogyny is a constant travel companion in any journey into Western thought.  Some make peace with some Aristotle’s unacceptable ideas by determining if the sexism is inherent to the concept — whether or not the theoretical gender bias was intrinsic to the theory or extrinsic to it. Other of these ancient ideas however, are remarkably useful.  His observation that “At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated by law and justice, he is the worst” is a disappointingly applicable today as it was 2600 years ago.

Some of Artistole’s contributions to concepts behind logic and science are so fundamental, we can see them as intuitive rather than derivative.  Take, for example, the definition of a definition.  Aristotle argued that is “a phrase signifying a thing’s essence.” By essence of a thing he meant the set of fundamental attributes which are the necessary and sufficient conditions for any concrete thing to be a thing of that type.

For example, a necessary element for marriage, many hope, is love.  But sadly, love is sometimes not sufficient.  Did Aristotle love his first wife, though he perceived her to be a deformed man? Did he love his second wife, who had also likely been his slave? 

Below is a tapenade we use to illustrate Aristotle’s concept.  If you are looking for a single ingredient recipe, this is one for you.  This recipe calls for an olive.  Theoretically, a tapenade cannot be a tapenade without an olive: the olive is necessary.  But then again is not really a tapenade without being blended with garlic, anchovies and spices. 

Recipe

A necessary but not sufficient Tapenade
Servings: 1	Time:30 seconds
Ingredient
1 olive, of your favorite variety
Instructions:
Remove olive from container, tapping to remove excess brine and oil.  Place onto a plate or bowl. Serve with a second, smaller plate or bowl for the pit.