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1 - The Psyche

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 January 2021

Paula Gottlieb
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin, Madison
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Summary

I discuss Aristotle’s account of the psyche (soul) in book 1 chapter 13 of the Nicomachean Ethics, his further distinction between theoretical and practical thinking in Nicomachean Ethics VI 1, and the famous function argument of Nicomachean Ethics I 7. I also address Aristotle’s unclarity about how to characterize desire, and his skepticism about parts of the psyche in de Anima III 9. This leads to a brief discussion of Plato’s division of the psyche in Republic IV and the Phaedrus, and whether both Plato’s and Aristotle’s divisions lead to problems concerning the unity of motivation. This discussion begins to set the stage for my interpretation of Aristotelian prohairesis (often translated as “choice”), the characteristic motivation of the good person. As we shall see, the phenomenon of choice straddles different parts of the Aristotelian psyche in a way that Plato never envisaged in his own account of the psyche.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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  • The Psyche
  • Paula Gottlieb, University of Wisconsin, Madison
  • Book: Aristotle on Thought and Feeling
  • Online publication: 08 January 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107323544.002
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  • The Psyche
  • Paula Gottlieb, University of Wisconsin, Madison
  • Book: Aristotle on Thought and Feeling
  • Online publication: 08 January 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107323544.002
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Psyche
  • Paula Gottlieb, University of Wisconsin, Madison
  • Book: Aristotle on Thought and Feeling
  • Online publication: 08 January 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107323544.002
Available formats
×