Aristotle's Theories: Soul and Ethics

Aristotle on the Soul

• Aristotle's theory of the soul is a core departure from Plato's.

  • Plato: The soul is immortal and separable from the body; it continues to exist after the body's death.

  • Aristotle: The soul cannot exist without the body; it ceases to exist when the body dies, thus denying the soul's immortality.

• Hylomorphism: Understanding Aristotle's theory requires grasping his concept of hylomorphism, the relationship between matter (hyle) and form (morphe).

• Aristotle’s Four Causes:

  • Material Cause

  • Formal Cause

  • Efficient Cause

  • Final Cause

Matter and Form

• To understand Aristotle's theory of the soul, it's crucial to focus on material and formal causes – the matter and form of an object.

• Example: Statue of Venus

  • Matter: Marble

  • Form: Shape of Venus, identical to the statue's shape

The Inseparability of Form from Matter

• The form (shape) of Venus is integral to the statue; destroying the statue destroys the form.

• The form of the statue cannot be separated from the matter (marble).

Complexity of Form in Organisms

• While the form of an artifact (like a statue) is easily identifiable as its shape, the formal cause of an organism is more complex.

Form as Determinate Structure

• Form provides essential characteristics, while matter is the substance of material things.

• Consider an oak tree (a living organism):

  • Its essence is not merely its shape.

  • There's continuity between an acorn and the mature oak tree.

  • During growth, all constituents are replaced, and the shape changes drastically.

Identity of Organisms Over Time

• The identity of an organism over time is determined neither by its constituents (matter) nor its shape.

The Soul as the Form of an Organism

• Aristotle identifies the soul as the form of any organism (cat, tree, human). This contrasts sharply with modern philosophers like Descartes (who viewed animals as machines) and La Mettrie (who argued humans are soulless machines).

• The soul is the form of any organism.

• Relationship Between Soul and Body

  • Aristotle sees the relationship between an organism's soul and body as a specific instance of the general relationship between matter and form.

  • The form of an organism is something invisible, which is the soul.

Original Sense of