PHI 2323 Lecture 15

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Tests handed back. What kind of thing does Plato think man is? — just his soul; body is a prison.

Next Time

Read De Anima Bk 2. Ch. 6-7, 11-12

Aristotle's Argument (Recap)

The soul is something¹ of something²

1. related to substance
   • therefore: substantial form, matter, or composite
   • substantial form makes matter actual
   • therefore, first actuality or second actuality — something can be alive without doing the things of life, e.g., reproduction, sensing, reasoning, locomotion, consideration (of science)
2. obviously body
   • natural or artificial — artificial is not really substance in itself, but takes on substance of the thing it's made from, e.g., a wooden chair acts like wood but has form of chair.
   • natural bodies either have tools (organs) or do not have tools (like a lump of rock)

Therefore, the soul is the first actuality of a natural body composed of tools.

Compare this conclusion with other philosopher's we've encountered:

Simmias	Aristotle	Socrates
Soul → Harmony of Body → Soul is accident of body?	Soul → Form of Body	Soul → substance → body is an accident?

Types of Souls

Each "higher layer" depends on the "layers" below it

1. rational (human)
2. sensitive (animals)
3. vegetative (plants)

what would Aristotle think of sponges and cnidarians? They seem vegetative rather than sensitive, even though we classify them as animals.

Reproduction is the most basic power, the end of which is participation in eternity (as a species)