First, an Aristotelian soul is not made of matter. That’s clear from his objection to Democritus’ crude materialism, but it also follows from his definition of the soul as the ‘form in a body’. Second, the soul is associated with the presence of organs, which means that it is a functional property of living things. Third, the soul is responsible for change in living things. By this he means that it regulates the body’s processes: growth, maintenance, ageing, locomotion, sensation, emotion and thought itself. Finally, the soul is responsible for a creature’s goals, ultimately its survival and
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