Nika Krikheli
Phi-2201-01 Theories of Human Nature
Professor Timothy Hackett
October 28, 2015
Aristotle and Descartes on body and soul
Aristotle and Descartes both discuss the soul and body in very specific ways and both
make assumptions on how human mind works. I would like to start with Aristotle.
Aristotle starts by saying that the attempt to define the soul is one of the most difficult
questions in the world because we should first understand the nature of the soul and its distinct
being (ousia). He mentions that it should be considered if the soul is divisible into parts or not.
He discusses two characteristics of the soul: the soul as the source of motion, and the soul as the
seat of perception and cognition. Aristotle explains that the soul is not material; it is a substance
and not an attribute.
Aristotle questions if Animals have a soul and says that there are different levels of soul.
Animals have a sensitive soul by which they perceive features of their surroundings and move in
response to the environment. Human beings possess intellect that allows them to imagine and
contemplate. Aristotle notes that “bodies” are substantial beings and there are three categories of
them: as material, as form, as composite of matter and form. Bodies are basically everything that
has a form and matter except concepts because they only have “form” and they do not have
matter.
In the “De Anima” Aristotle’s definition of a soul is “the first being-fully-itself of an
organized [or organic] natural body.” But it is important to recognize that soul is being-fully-
itself in the first sense, since it is present in bodies even when their potentials are not presently at
work. The second sense of being-fully-itself is when are potentials are “at-work.” The being-at-
work of the potencies depend on both the body and the soul of the animate being that has a given
set of potencies..
By stating this definition he excludes the fact that the body and the soul can be separated.
Since all things are composite of form and matter, and living things are composites of soul and
body, soul and body always go together. Aristotle’s view is that the body (of living things) is
animated by the soul. The soul actualizes the potential of organisms. He poses a sailor and a ship
example to understand the way the soul works into the body. Soul is not independent of “the
body that has life for its potency.” but they are not the same either. In a living being, the body is
