‘Comparing the differing attitudes towards the body and the soul of Plato and Aristotle’.

[10 marks]

Plato was a dualist, and his attitude towards the body and the soul was based on his view that there
is a world which exsists with metaphysical counterparts of the objects within the empirical world,
which he called the realm of forms. Plato suggested that these metaphysical counter parts, or forms
as he referred to them, were eternal, perfect, and timeless. He believed that the soul was a part of
this metaphysical realm of forms, whereas the physical body is a part of the empirical world, due to
the fact the body is composite, and can be destroyed/decay whereas the mind is one singular thing
and cannot be destroyed and so therefore is permanent, similarly to forms. Plato also belived that
the soul is comprised of 3 parts; the logical part of the brain, which is what makes us capable of
rational thought. Thumos, which is the spirited part of the psyche, and the appetite part which has
appetites for food, sex and drink. In conclusion, Plato belives that we have a body which is separate
to our minds and temporary, which has a soul that is connected to it which is eternal and has been
trapped in the physical body and wants to return to the realm of perfect forms as it is simply trapped
in the empirical world. Which means that Plato belives that the body and soul are separate things
where the soul is trapped within the body until it is made perfect enough to go to the metaphysical
realm of the forms.

Aristotle however, whilst also being a dualist, has a very different attitude towards the body and the
soul. He suggested that all living things have souls, which is what animates their body’s and
distinguishes them from inanimate objects providing humans with the ability to have rational
thought and a conscience which he argues is what makes humans unique in comparison to other
living things. He also believes, contrary to what Plato thinks, that the body and the soul cannot be
separated, which Plato believes is possible as the soul wants to return to the realm of forms, and has
moved between body’s before, as the soul is what provides the body with life, and so if the soul is
separated then the body will not be able to exist on its own, and the soul requires a body to be able
to express its thoughts and be able to interact with the physical world. Aristotle vitally belives that
the soul melds the body into what it is, and so the body will also not be able to constitute what a
human being is without the soul creating the self and providing it with the ability to think rational
thought. This means that Aristotle belives that the body and the soul, whilst separate, are
intrinsically linked, and rely on each other to be able to reach their full potential.