Aristotle studied in the Academy,
the first higher education institution in the West established by his master,
Plato. It is somehow safe to say that he
was greatly influenced by his master in many ways. But, he parted his way from Platonism with a
radical view making him one of the original thinkers in the classical Greece.
His philosophical view of man
shared some fundamental concepts with his master, such as man’s essential
nature is grounded on something metaphysical
and man, by his nature, tends to achieve his purposive end. As an original thinker, he ventured to build
a philosophical system which is entirely different from his master and all other
thinkers in the West. In this article, I’d like to discuss Aristotle’s
philosophy, specifically his theory of man.
MAN as COMPOSITE OF BODY AND
SOUL
To fully grasp Aristotle’s theory
of man, one has to be well-versed of his metaphysical view. Aristotle believes that every existing
thing/object is composed of matter and form.
This is known as the hylemorphism
(Greek terms: hyle meaning matter,
and morphe meaning form) –the matter
and form principle. These two
metaphysical principles[i]
are primordial since they are what the material world made of. There is non-existent in the material
universe which is not a composite of matter and form. Matter doesn’t exist by itself nor does form
exist by itself. Form is the active
principle coming from the mind of the demiurge
–the God who is considered as the prime mover; matter is the passive
principle. Once the form is imposed to
the matter, an object or thing exists such as a chair, a table or a man. In man, the form is his soul and the matter
is his body. But unlike his master Plato
who believes that man is his soul, Aristotle deems that man is the whole of his body and soul. For Aristotle, there is no sense to
dichotomize man in two realms: the earthly
realm (that of the body) and the other-worldly
realm (that of the soul). He doesn’t
have any inkling of the other-worldly realm of ideal form like his master
Plato.
As a composite of matter (body)
and form (soul), man must have a substantial
form. This substantial form defines the
nature of man. As mentioned above, the
form comes from the mind of the demiurge
(the prime mover). So to say, this
demiurge must be an intelligent one
since he is the designer of the material world and a creative one since there are no existents, which are exactly the same. Thus, the substantial form is conceived in
the mind of the demiurge, is imposed to the matter, and becomes the defining
nature of all existents, both seen and unseen creatures. Every existent is what its creator intended
it to be. Or, to simply put it in the
context of man, every man is what his creator intended him to be. Man’s essential nature is already defined even
before he comes to exist in this world. The
essence of man precedes his existence. This
theory is what existentialist philosophers disagree. For existentialists, man exists first before
he defines his essence. The existence of
man precedes his essence.
Furthermore, this nature (the essential form) of man also defines
his purpose[ii]
in life. For Aristotle, man is
essentially rational. This idea of being
rational is most likely similar with that of Plato. Man has the capacity to understand himself
and the world. This capacity to know is
somehow independently of any psycho-somatic (say, emotional, psychological, or physiological) activities of man. But unlike his master who believes that idea
must come from pure reason alone, Aristotle claims that idea must come from experience. For Aristotle, man’s mind with its power of
abstraction is fed up by his experiences in order to abstract what is essential
in other objects. This power of abstraction of man’s mind is what
makes him different from other animals. Dogs,
cats or any other animals don’t have this power to abstract what is essential in
other things/objects. Man is the only privilege
being to have this power to abstract and understand the nature of other beings.
MAN and HIS PURPOSE
For Aristotle, the purpose of man
lies in his very nature. As mentioned
above, the nature of man is being rational.
Thus, being rational is his very END or purpose in life.
As a rational being, he should not be driven by emotions or
desires but by his reason. If he is
driven by emotions, which is not proper of him, then he is not a man. If he is driven by his desires to get the
luxuries in life, which is not proper of him, then he is not a man. Man is his reason. He should act according to the dictates of
his reason, and not to the dictates of his emotions and desires.
This is something unique in the
thought of Aristotle. For him, man
serves no other purpose in life, except to become a man of reason. Christian thinkers believe that a heavenly
paradise awaits to those who follow their nature –the nature to do good and
avoid evil. In that paradise, man
achieves his ultimate happiness in life.
For Aristotle, there is no such thing as heaven that awaits man who
exercises his nature as being rational. His
exercise of his nature as rational is his very end. His ultimate happiness is achieved when he fully
realizes his potential –his being rational.
Unlike his master, Aristotle doesn’t believe of other-worldly realm that
gratifies him when he faithfully follows his nature.
In conclusion, Aristotle makes a
complete departure from his master’s obsession of the other-worldly realm. His philosophy is the mark of a pagan thought
and culture.
