Aristotle view

Question 1

what did Aristotle think about the body and soul

Answer 1

Aristotle’s views on the body and the soul differ from Plato’s due to his materialist position. Aristotle believes that the soul is the form of the body, therefore without the soul the body would simply be piles of blood, skin and bone etc.

Question 2

explain the idea of the wax stamp that Aristotle came up with

Answer 2

Aristotle also states that the soul is the efficient, formal and final cause of the body. He used an example of an imprint in wax to explain his beliefs on the body and soul. He stated that the imprint in the wax reflected how the body and soul cannot be separated (the imprint can’t be separated from the wax and visa Versa). This means that the body is real and it cannot be without the soul or the soul without the body.

Question 3

why is Aristotle’s argument about how we gain knowledge valid compared to plato
2

Answer 3

Aristotle avoided this issue by stating that the soul and body were one, so there was no issue with them being one as they are intrinsically connected. Aristotle’s argument about how we gain knowledge via our senses may be invalid as we do not know whether our senses actually sense true reality. Plato avoids this issue by stating that all knowledge is gained via the soul in the realm of the forms, rather than our bodies in the physical realm.