Single Idea 24053

[catalogued under 15. Nature of Minds / A. Nature of Mind / 5. Unity of Mind]

Full Idea

What is it that holds the soul together, if it by nature has parts? For surely it cannot be the body. For it seems on the contrary that it is rather the soul that holds the body together?

Gist of Idea

If a soul have parts, what unites them?

Source

Aristotle (De Anima [c.329 BCE], 411b05)

Book Reference

Aristotle: 'De Anima (on the psuche)', ed/tr. Reeve, C.D.C. [Hackett 2017], p.19


A Reaction

This is the hylomorphic view of a human, that the soul is the form that give unity to the matter. To do the job, presumably the form or soul need an intrinsic unity of its own, and hence cannot have parts. Apart from the need for unifying glue.