The focus of this seminar is Aristotle’s
De Anima or On the Soul. In ancient times, should
was held to be the source of both motion/life on
the one hand, and cognition on the other. In the
De Anima, Aristotle will furnish not only a definition
of soul but also offer a comprehensive analysis
of perception, thought and imagination. We shall
make a careful study of the text in order to learn
more about soul, what soul is and its many functions.
We shall begin with a brief introduction to contemporary
philosophy of mind and its roots in Descartes.
Having articulated the modern concept of mind,
i.e., the replacement for the older Aristotelian
notion of soul, we move on to a systematic investigation
of Aristotle’s psychology.
