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31 pages 1 hour read

Aristotle

On the Soul

Nonfiction | Book | Adult

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Index of Terms

Actuality (Energeia) and Potentiality (Dynamis)

Actuality and potentiality are an important pair of concepts in Aristotle’s philosophy. Actuality means a mode of being in which a thing can bring other things about. (The Greek word translated as “actuality” literally means “putting into use” or “employment.”) Potentiality means the capacity of a thing to change or transition into different states—a state of being passive or receptive. A thing in a state of actuality can bring a thing in the state of potentiality into a state of actuality.

The examples Aristotle discusses in On the Soul involve the processes of sense perception and thought, in which a potential capacity within the human soul is actualized by the thing perceived or thought of. Indeed, Aristotle considers the soul itself to be the “first actuality of a natural body” (157)—that which brings the body to life. By extension, all form is the actualization of the potentiality of matter.

Account, Formula, Ratio (Logos)

A word rich in meanings in Aristotle’s philosophy, logos can be translated in several ways. In its broadest sense it means “reason” in general. It can also mean the reason or principle behind a thing, that which makes it what it is. By extension, it can mean the verbal “account” or explanation that we give of this. It can also refer to a proportion, ratio, or formula. In Book 2, Chapter 12, Aristotle speaks of the senses as having a “formula” or proportion that dictates what degree of the sense object they are able to take in; too much (such as an overly loud sound) will harm them (188).

Being, Essence, Substance (Ousia)

For Aristotle, a substance is an entity that is what it is on its own and independent of any other more fundamental entity outside of itself. Aristotle argues that the soul is such a self-subsisting entity. “Essence” is connected with the definition of a thing—what it intrinsically is. “Being” refers to the fact of a thing’s existence.

Cause (Aition)

In Aristotelian philosophy “cause” has a broader sense that it does in modern language and refers to the underlying principles of things, that which makes them come to be. For Aristotle, there are four causes:

Efficient cause is the primary source of change in a thing. The efficient cause of a house is the builder. Material cause is that out of which a thing comes to be. The material cause of the house is bricks, mortar, glass, etc.
Formal cause is the determining shape or design of a thing. The formal cause of the house is the blueprint. Final cause is that for the sake of which something is done. The final cause of the house is to provide shelter.

Aristotle speaks of the soul as the “cause” of the body, in three ways: (1) it is the efficient cause of the body, that which causes change in it, producing growth and movement; (2) it is the formal cause, that which determines the shape and nature of the body it informs; and (3) it is the final cause, that for the sake of which the body exists (since the body would not be alive without the soul).

Form (Eidos)

Form is the principle that determines what a thing is; in material things, it is joined to matter. Matter individuates the form it inheres in. Aristotle posits that the soul is the form of the body—that is, it determines what sort of body it is.

Perception, Sensation (Aesthesis)

Perception is an animal’s capacity to take in something in the world through the senses or intellect. Aristotle claims that in perceiving something, the soul in effect becomes that thing to the extent that the thing becomes present in the soul.

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