Aristotle and Descartes
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Please give a clearly presented comparison of the views of Aristotle and Descartes on the relationship between body and mind/soul that contains rich detail and is discerning, along with research (at least two) from scholarly, and original, and/or highly respected, current sources. Please do not copy and paste.
Byers, S. (2006). Life as "Self-Motion": Descartes and "The Aristotelians" on the Soul as the Life of the Body. Review Of Metaphysics, 59(4), 723-755. doi: 10.2307/20130699
Sourced Doc: Two Views of Soul: Aristotle and Descartes*
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Solution Summary
This solution compares Descartes and Aristotle's soul-body dualism.
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The principles set forth in the philosophical views of Aristotle and Descartes were based upon the body-soul dichotomy that suggested humans were physical beings who had non-material souls, because this is the way God was experienced (Day, 2006l). In addition, humans were considered chemical/biological beings whose mind (i.e., soul, matter, body etc.) could be theoretically explained by chemistry and physics. Based on this prevailing view, behavior was believed to be determinants of the laws of biology, chemistry, and physics. Emerging from this classical view of dualism (body and soul), the Aristotelian view of the person was developed. For instance, the mind was considered to be non-material, separate from the body; but interacting with the physical body (Brown & Jeeves, 1999). According to Brown and Jeeves, within the concept of dualism, to have a separate entity the "soul must have some realm (or realms) of agency within human mental and physical activity." In other words, the soul must account for something that is not represented in our neurocognitive systems, and must interact with the ongoing thinking of human being; and how they respond. As Brown and Jeeves conclude conclude, without this connection, the concept of soul was viewed as not having substance.
Research shows that Aristotle rejected the psychology of Plato, and Rene Descartes rejected the Aristotelian philosophical view that was based on the Platonian viewpoint. ...
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