Soul Mind & Body - Plato + Aristotle Dualists Flashcards
plato’s view of the soul
From the analogy of the cave and the theory of Forms, we can see that Plato thinks the soul is a non-material essence.
charioteer analogy
The Charioteer analogy helps to understand the tripartite (threefold) nature of the soul:
- Two horses (will and appetite) are controlled by the charioteer (reason). Plato believed that unless the charioteer kept control on the reins, will (the weaker horse) would be dragged in the direction that appetite (the stronger horse) wanted to go.
plato’s belief about the soul
Plato was a dualist and believed that the soul is deformed through its association with the body.
The soul is separable from the body and as it is non-material, it is, in a sense, indestructible.
plato’s argument for the soul
The cyclical nature of existence.
- As sleep follows waking, waking follows sleep. As death follows life, life follows death.
The argument from knowledge.
- Plato claims we have innate knowledge that helps us make comparisons, which can only come from the world of the Forms. So our souls pre-existed our physical bodies in this world.
As the soul (not the body) grasps the Forms, then the soul must belong to that world too. So it is unchangeable and indivisible, just as the Forms are.
what did Plato believe about the soul and the body
the soul is deformed through it’s association with the body
non-material and indestructible (in a sense)
the soul is separate from the body
plato believed that the soul is deformed through its association with …
the body
aristotle’s view of the soul
Aristotle had an entirely different view of the soul. The soul is the form of the body.
relationship of the form and cause
For Aristotle, the form of something is related to the cause, specifically the formal cause, which is the ‘blueprint’ or map of something.
The form of something is found in its functioning.
- E.g. The form of a car is found through the combustion of the petrol, the pistons, the action of the engine and the movement of the wheels. In other words, the working together of all the processes of the car.
BMW and human examples
In that sense, you cannot say that you have a BMW if all you have is a pile of BMW parts – they have to be connected together and functioning in the manner intended.
Equally, even if you have a collection of human parts, you cannot say that there is a soul or form of human there unless they all function together.
body and soul are inseperable
So in contrast to Plato’s dualist position, Aristotle does not hold that the soul is separable from the body – that when the body dies, you cannot meaningfully speak of a form or soul of the body because decomposition begins.
An analogy to this is that of the eye.
- Aristotle says the soul of the eye is the sight. If the eye is not functioning, there is no sight. Equally, if the body is not functioning, there is no soul.
wax and seal analogy
Another analogy Aristotle gives is the wax and the seal.
- When heated wax is imprinted with someone’s seal or stamp (to seal an official letter for instance) it is impossible to separate the imprint of the seal from the wax. So the form of the body, the soul, is imprinted on it but is also inseparable from the working of the body itself.
what analogies does aristotle use for the soul
eye
wax and seal
what did aristotle believe, contrary to Plato
the soul and body are inseparable
the soul is the form of the body
influence of taylor & plato
But the Romantics were influenced by Thomas Taylor’s translations of Plato’s works. It is clear that many of the Romantics were essentially Platonist dualists.
whose theory of the soul did the Romantics seem to follow
Plato
