The Symposium: Plato and Aristotle, Research Paper Example

Plato: Soul Relation to Body. The soul within a body is a mortal living creature. When the soul is contained in the material form of the body it is imperfect in comparison to the soul without a body, which is viewed as immortal. The body itself is animated by the soul, which gives the body its movement and its life. The body is essentially an imprisonment of the soul, which must free itself of the body to reach perfection.

Aristotle. Soul Relation to Body. The soul indicates a type of body that is living. For Aristotle, all bodies are natural substances and matter. Yet what distinguishes the animate from the inanimate is the presence of the soul. The soul makes actual the possibilities of life itself: it is the essence of a substance.

Bible. Soul Relation to Body. The soul is the true spirit of the individual person, his or her true character. The soul transcends the life and death of the body itself, and thus expresses a different and higher type of reality, one that is immortal and not subject to the changes within the material world.

Plato. Soul Relation to Divine Unchangeable Truths. The soul is the immortal faculty which allows one to perceive the unchangeable and undying truths of reality. Without the soul it is impossible to conceive of the truth. Therefore the truth is not found in material substances. The soul resembles the individual’s gateway to truth and the very possibility to understand divine unchangeable truths.

Aristotle. Soul Relation to Divine Unchangeable Truths. Since the soul is the essence of a substance, it becomes the means by which we understand the actual knowledge of things. The essence is that which actually defines a given substance: therefore, to know the essence, is to know the substance in its reality, free of illusion.

Bible. Soul Relation to Divine Unchangeable Truths. The soul is that which is human life itself, and that which makes clear that the individual is the creation of God. The soul therefore is the evidence of God’s involvement in the creation of the being: the soul is what gives the being its unique person.

Plato. Soul. Parts, Components. The metaphor of the winged-horses and charioteer describe the parts and components of the soul. This is the totality of the soul, which allows one to traverse heaven and understand the forms that constitute reality and true knowledge. The perfect soul remains in the world of forms, while the imperfect soul loses these same wings and crashes to earth, unable to see the forms and thus the truth.

Aristotle. Soul, Parts, Components. The soul appears as the actual essence of a natural body, it is that which shapes, forms and gives essence to the natural body. It is simply what makes a natural body what it is. Therefore, a part of the soul can be considered to be that which the soul forms and shapes and gives essence to, such as a particular natural body.

The Bible. The soul is the essence of a person, and is thus not made up of parts or components. It is rather the person him or herself.

Plato. Soul. Function and Purpose. The soul is what allows us to see the true reality and the true forms; without it we are unable to see true reality.

Aristotle. Soul, Function and Purpose. The soul is what gives essences to substances, it makes them actual. Without the soul we cannot understand a particular substance as a particular substance.

Bible. Soul, Function and Purpose. The soul is what makes the individual, it is therefore the very possibility of Christian love.

Plato, Relation to Human Nature. The soul is that which is noble in human nature, allowing one to transcend the everyday world and behold the unchanging truth.

Aristotle, Relation to Human Nature. The soul is that which creates the essence of human nature itself: it defines what makes a particular human being.

Bible, Relation to Human Nature. The soul is what makes human beings human, defining their personhood and their closeness to God as His creation.

Metaphor. Charioteer. The metaphor of the charioteer describes for Plato the soul itself. The charioteer with the winged horses can fly to the heavens and observe truth – this is the nobility of the soul. However, the soul that is not noble does not transcend to the heavens and remains a grounded chariot, concerned only with the mundane illusions of the world.

Axe. Just like an axe remains at rest without someone wielding it, the natural substance and body is inanimate without the soul.