Plato And Aristotle's Connection Between The Soul And Soul

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How do we obtain our knowledge? Do we use our senses of touch, taste, hearing, smell and sight? This is a basic philosophical question that has been asked and elaborated upon by philosophers. Plato and Aristotle have formed their own opinions upon whether or not the senses can be trusted. In order to understand their ideas on the senses, first their philosophy on the connection between the soul and body must be examined. Plato states that the body and soul are separate, while Aristotle says they are one. Concerning the senses, Plato says they cannot be trusted and knowledge cannot be gained through them. Aristotle creates an opposing view, saying that the senses are essential to gaining knowledge and learning about the world.
Plato’s philosophy …show more content…

He uses his concepts of actuality and potentiality to explain the connection between the soul and body, as well as argues that each soul and body combination is unique and therefore the two must be one. A major aspect of Aristotle’s philosophy is the concept of potentiality and actuality. Matter, a thing that is not itself without form, is potentiality. Form, the essence that makes a thing (or matter) itself, is actuality. In order for a thing to fulfill its purpose, it must move from potentiality to actuality. (On the soul Bk.II) He states that the soul is the actuality of the body. (On the soul bk.II) He defines the body as having the potentiality of life and therefore it must be matter. Because form and matter are compliments and one cannot exist without the other, the soul must be the form because it fills the body, that had potentiality of life, with actual life. Through this reasoning the conclusion is made that the body and soul are connected and compliment each other. Contrasting to Plato, they seem to need to be together and they are not striving to be separate. Aristotle creates a concept that deals with classifying souls into categories. He defines the soul as “substance in the sense which corresponds to the definitive formula of a thing’s essence” and that it is the “essential whatness of a body of the character just assigned”. (On the soul book II) He has three …show more content…

He states that “It is impossible to attain any pure knowledge with the body” (P 66 e) This is because the physical senses, touching, smelling, seeing, hearing and tasting are deceiving (P 65 b). If you stick your hand in cold water until it becomes numb and put your hand into hot water afterwards the water would still feel cold and not hot, like the water actually is. Eyes can be deceiving as well. There are many optical illusions where objects look closer or farther away than they really are. There are mirages, like the illusion of a water pool in the desert that results from the sun and reflections. Plato says you cannot gain knowledge from the senses because they are deceiving and are “not clear, precise or accurate” (P 65 b). Plato also discusses the idea that the senses cannot grasp the reality of things. Plato uses the concept of forms, which are the real, original, immortal, perfect form of things like justice, good and truth. In the Phaedo he has Socrates have a conversation with Simmias, asking if he has ever seen the Beautiful, or the Good or the Just with his eyes, or if he has ever grasped them with any of his bodily senses. They conclude that the senses cannot grasp the reality of things and therefore pure knowledge and truth can never be

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