Aristotle's View of the Soul

Question 1

Aristotle’s View of the Soul

Answer 1

Aristotle viewed the soul as a formal cause, not a separate entity from the body. He believed the soul is the essence, the animating principle of a living organism, giving life and purpose. Aristotle viewed the soul as inseparable from the body, ceasing to exist upon death.

Question 2

Analogy for Aristotle’s View of the Soul

Answer 2

Stamp in wax analogy – the body is like wax and the soul is like the imprint in wax left by the stamp.

Question 3

Hierarchy of Being

Answer 3

Aristotle believed that the soul has three faculties: the vegetative faculty, which governs growth, perceptive faculty for sensory perception, and rational faculty for thinking and reasoning.

Question 4

Vegetative Souls

Answer 4

The vegetative soul plays a crucial role in the basic functions of growth, nutrition, and reproduction, ensuring the survival and reproduction of all living beings.

Question 5

Perceptive Souls

Answer 5

The perceptive faculty, specific to both animals and humans, involves sensory perceptions like touching and tasting, enabling awareness and response to the environment.

Question 6

Rational Souls

Answer 6

The rational faculty is a unique mental function to humans. It involves higher mental functions like reasoning and moral decision-making, transcending sensory perception and enabling abstract thought and contemplation.

Question 7

Teleological Purpose Argument

Answer 7

Aristotle argues that the soul gives purpose and direction to living beings. As the formal cause, the soul allows humans to fulfil their specific functions and potential as it gives them ability.

Question 8

Interconnectedness of the Body

Answer 8

Aristotle sees the soul as inseparable from the body, with each influencing and relying on the other. This perspective acknowledges the interconnectedness of our physical and mental experiences. This could explain the story of Phineas Gage.

Question 9

Problem of Categorisation

Answer 9

The existence of animals that exhibit complex cognitive abilities challenges this distinction, as they seem to possess some level of rationality. The boundaries between the different levels of the soul can be blurry. For example, some argue that certain perceptive functions, like perception or memory, can involve rational processes to some extent.

Question 10

Lack of Empiricism Argument

Answer 10

The lack of empirical evidence devalues the claims made by Aristotle, who relies on abstract philosophical concepts to support his theories.

Question 11

Materialism

Answer 11

Materialists argue that mental states, emotions, and thoughts are the result of neurochemical interactions in the brain, without the need for an immaterial soul, arguing that consciousness and the mind can be fully explained by physical processes.