Body and Soul in Ancient Philosophy

Aristotle on desire and action 307
on occasion, allows himself to talk of the soul as causing certain changes
(thinking, movements) he is quick to avoid saying that the soul does
things, preferring his own formulation in terms of the person. “It is better
not to say that the soul grieves or learns or thinks but man in respect
of his soul.” (408b13 –15). For the soul, conceived of as a purely psychological
phenomenon (or set of such phenomena), is not the type
of thing which can be the subject of these inextricably psycho-physical
processes. At this point, Aristotle is best seen as challenging the moves
that lead to dualism at the first step: it is not the soul which is (properly
speaking) that which moves the animal but the (psycho-physical) person.
The desirer is, no doubt, responsive to the goods (or goals) he seeks,
themselves the starting point of the process that leads to action. (In some
cases these goals may be the goals of skills.) Indeed, the desirer typically
aims to achieve these goals. But neither the goals themselves nor the
skills are (or can plausibly be) described as ‘using’ desire (or the desirer)
to achieve their ends. Indeed, it is the desirer who uses his skill to achieve
the ends he has set himself.
7. Conclusion
Aristotle’s account, I have argued, does not fit into the standard categories
of post-Cartesian philosophy because it rejects the two assumptions
that characterise it. In his view, it is not the case that
[1]* There is a purely psychological feature or process involved in desiring
(or a purely psychological description)
[2]* All relevant processes and features are either purely psychological
or purely physical or a combination of the two.
Materialist and spiritualist interpreters have erred in seeing Aristotle as
occupying a position in the logical space of options defined by Descartes.
His account shows that there are more ways of understanding
the mind/body relation than are dreamed of in post-Cartesian philosophy.
It remains to be seen whether it can withstand serious scrutiny.