Rereading Anaxagoras’ Mind in Aristotle’s Psychology

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Shahid Beheshti University

2 SBU

10.48308/kj.2024.234351.1219

Abstract

The examination of the concept of mind in Aristotle’s psychology poses a
considerable challenge within his work, De anima. This paper unravels the
complexities by scrutinizing Aristotle’s expressions as both a response to and an
advancement of Anaxagoras’ Mind theory. Anaxagoras’ theory, whether explicitly or
implicitly, presents mind as both indeterminate and everlasting. However, these
characteristics contradict the primary function of the mind, namely, its capacity for
knowledge and thought. Anything that is entirely indeterminate lacks resemblance
to anything else, thereby rendering it incapable of comprehending anything, in accordance with the widely accepted axiom that “like is known by like”. Besides, knowledge and thought involve a transformation from potentiality to actuality, implying the involvement of matter, while a material entity cannot possess eternity. In this paper, it is contended that the fourth and fifth chapters of the third book of De anima address these two dilemmas. Aristotle reconciles these attributes by endorsing and reinterpreting Anaxagoras’ theory. 

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References

Broadie, Sara (1996), “Noῦs and Nature in De Anima III,” in Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy, 12(1): 163-176
Carter, Jason W. (2018), “How Aristotle Changes Anaxagoras’s Mind,” in Apeiron, 52(1):1-28
Caston, Victor (1996), “Aristotle on the Relation of the Intellect to the Body: Commentary on Broadie,” in Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy, 12(1), 177-192.
Jiménez, Erick Raphael (2017), Aristotle’s Concept of Mind, Cambridge University Press
Menn, Stephen (1995), Plato on God as Nous, Journal of the History of Philosophy, Monograph Series, Southern Illinois University Press
Miller, Fred D. (2012), “Aristotle on the Separability of Mind,” in Shields (2012), pp. 306-339
Shields, Christopher (ed.) (2012), The Oxford Handbook of Aristotle, Oxford University Press
Shields, Christopher (2016), Aristotle De Anima, Oxford University Press

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  • Receive Date: 03 January 2024
  • Accept Date: 17 February 2024

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