Aristotelian definition of soul in Rustavel’s Poem (12th Century)

Abstract

Aristotle’s treatise on the soul De anima (Περι πσυχεσ) consummates the age-old drive of Classical Greek philosophy towards determining the essence of the soul. In the view of Anaximenes (Milesian school), the soul had material existence, consisting of air. According to Heraclitus of Ephesus (6th-5th cent. B.C.), the soul constituted a mixture of water and fire, while Democritus (5th-4th cent. B.C.) believed that it was composed of atoms. The stoicists also considered the soul to be material. Pythagoras (6th cent. B.C.) held the soul to be a harmony, while Socrates (5th cent. B.C.), opposing this view, contended that the soul could not be a harmony, for the latter was complex, and the soul simple. For his part, Socrates shared the view of ancient thinkers to the effect that the soul has an existence independent of the body. He believes the soul existed before the birth of the body and continued to exist after its death, migrating to another world. For their part, the Pythagoreans developed the same view, holding that souls could wander from body to body. In the wake of Socrates, Plato (5th-4th cent. B.C.) too accepted the thesis of the immaterial nature and immortality of the soul. Considering the soul in relationship with the body, he arrives at the conclusion that the soul introduces life into the body (Phaidon LIV). On the other hand, Plato argues that «the soul is different in kind from the body. The soul is invisible and immaterial, while the body, of course, is both visible and material. Moreover, the soul is separable from the body and immortal».