Aristotle's On the Soul

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Wesgtr
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Aristotle's On the Soul

Post by Wesgtr »

I am currently reading On the Soul by Aristotle. Besides the meandering adventures through plant souls and animal souls, what do you think of the text? Have any of you read this text? If not, you can probably find it in a library or buy it cheap online. It's a great read once it gets into the thinking section and is comparable to Descarte's theory of ideas. Could we have this as a text for reading? The treatise on the soul could give plenty of food for thought on what we are as humans, how we think, and how we live.
Fooloso4
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Re: Aristotle's On the Soul

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I took a class many years ago that focussed primarily on De Anima. It is an intriguing but interpretively difficult text. This, I think, may be a reflection of the difficulty of the subject matter. Aristotle may be pointing to the aporetic problem at the heart of any discussion of the soul. This seems to be in line with the lack of answers provided in Plato’s Phaedo and, of course, Socrates’ knowledge of his ignorance.

I think the sections on plant and animal souls are important for orienting us for reading about something that has a long history both before Aristotle, which he addresses, and after him, which he could not and which is often a stumbling block for understanding what he does and does not mean by the term translated as ‘soul’. The problem, however, extends to terms such as ‘matter’ which does not have for Aristotle the meaning it does for contemporary physics or Descartes, and this is important to see if one wishes to compare this text with Descartes.
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Wesgtr
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Re: Aristotle's On the Soul

Post by Wesgtr »

I would love to agree with you, but why would aristotle say the soul is matter when he refers to thinking and the like in the text. Are you sure? I haven't finished on the soul yet. And, thank you.
Fooloso4
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Re: Aristotle's On the Soul

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Wesgtr:
…. why would aristotle say the soul is matter when he refers to thinking and the like in the text.
I don’t think he does say that soul is matter. What he asks is whether the soul can exist without body. His answer is that perhaps there can in the case of noein, that is, thinking or understanding:
It appears that in most cases the soul is not affected, nor does it act apart from the body, e.g., in being angry, being confident, wanting, and in all perceiving.
although noein looks most like being peculiar to the soul. But if this too is a form of imagination or does not exist apart from imagination, it would not be possible even for this to be apart from the body. (On the Soul, 403a7-10)
With the possible exception of noein Aristotle does not separate soul and body, but, rather, is concerned with ensouled or living bodies.
The soul must, then, be substance qua form of a natural body which has life potentially. (412a19-20)
And substance (οὐσία) as form is actuality. The soul, therefore, will be the actuality of a body of this kind. (412a19-22)
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LazyPasta
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Re: Aristotle's On the Soul

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I am yet to read On The Soul- could a brief synopsis be provided for context to this discussion?
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