Critically compare Plato and Aristotle's views of the soul

How does Plato understand the soul?

The soul is an immortal, immaterial substance temporarily trapped in the body

How does Plato’s view reflects his wider metaphysics?

The soul belongs to the World of Forms while the body belongs to the World of Appearances

Why does Plato see the body as a problem?

The body distracts the soul through physical desires and sensory experiences

What is Plato’s Theory of Recollection?

The soul possesses innate knowledge from before birth which is remembered through reason

Which example does Plato use to support recollection?

Meno’s slave boy

Why is Plato’s account attractive?

It explains objective truths such as justice beauty and goodness

How does Aristotle criticise Plato’s soul-body distinction?

He argues soul and body cannot meaningfully exist independently

What is hylomorphism?

The view that humans are composed of matter (body) and form (soul)

How does Aristotle define the soul?

The soul is the form or organising principle of the body

What analogy illustrates Aristotle’s view?

The soul is to the body what the function of cutting is to a knife

Why is Aristotle’s account more coherent?

It avoids the interaction problem facing dualism

How does Plato argue for immortality in Phaedo?

The soul is simple and indivisible and therefore cannot decay

What is Plato’s argument from opposites?

Life comes from death and death from life, suggesting a cycle of existence

What is the Tripartate Soul?

Reason, spirit and appetite

Which analogy illustrates the Tripartate Soul?

The Charioteer Analogy?

Why is Plato’s immortality appealing?

It offers hope for life after death and personal survival?

Why does Aristotle reject an immortal soul?

The soul ceases when the body ceases functioning

How does modern neuroscience support Aristotle?

Consciousness appears dependent on brain activity

Which philosopher criticsed dualism as the “ghost in the machine”?

Gilbert Ryle

What is Aristotle’s teleological understanding of the soul?

The soul enables a being to fulfill its natural purpose

What is the human telos according to Aristotle?

Eudaimonia (human flourishing)

What different types of soul does Aristotle identify?

• Vegetative

• Sensitive

• Rational

Which Christian thinker was heavily influenced by Aristotle’s account?

Thomas Aquinas

What challenge does Plato pose to materialism?

Human consciousness and rationality seem difficult to reduce entirely to physical processes

What is the strongest strength of Plato’s account?

It explains consciousness and objective morality

What is the strongest strength and Aristotle’s account?

It aligns with empirical observation and modern science

What is the essay’s overall judgement?

Aristotle’s hylomorphic account is ultimately more convincing than Plato’s dualism