Readings for The Philosophy of Aristotle Session IV: De Anima

Φίλοι,

Cheers to reviewing the function argument and exploring the four causes last night. Even though most of you were horror movie haters, I found our time to be productive and engaging nonetheless.

Now that we have established an understanding of the four causes, we are prepared to move into a targeted discussion of the soul. If a soul is a special substance that is defined by motion (namely, being alive), we are in for a fun treat: plants and animals are both, for Aristotle, ensouled creatures. Yet, the soul in my cactus is different from the soul in my dog. The chasm for this difference is expanded when we consider the soul of a human being. Why? This classification will be the question we seek to answer. 

For the small price of $14,000, this medieval manuscript of De Anima could be yours!

Required:

Aristotle, De Anima, Book I Ch 1, 4, and 5; Book II Ch 1-6. 

Optional: 

Aristotle, On the Parts of Animals, Book 1 Section 1 (Web).

De Anima selections attached below; On the Parts of Animals selections (**optional**) can be found here: https://penelope.uchicago.edu/aristotle/parts1.html

As always, my email inbox is open. Kudos to those who have utilized it, be it for coffee appointments about papers or random Aristotle-related comic strips.

-S

Session IV Readings De Anima.pdf

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