Opposition is so Divisive...

Why bother with such philosophical conundrums as the square of opposition, you ask? If you can't distinguish one thing from another, then you can't come to know what a thing is. We come to know things by making distinctions. Although our senses are directed toward particulars, our intellect works with universals. Often, when we first establish a universal, we have discovered a genus that is a bit broader than is helpful in the case at hand. Properly, specific differences are used to distinguish between the members of a genus; however, in practice we are often forced to use properties of the species to distinguish one from another rather than the specific difference (which is most formally what separates one species from another).

When we go on to speak of the differences between things, and especially bring qualities into the conversation, it becomes necessary to judge what kind of opposition is represented in our predications. Mistaking contraries for a contradiction will over simplify the consideration, since intermediaries lie between contraries, while contradictions admit of no intermediaries. Thus, knowing the kind of opposition can make all the difference.