Aristotle Complete Works, Volume III

Author: Miao Litian
Publisher:
Publication Date: 1997-01-01
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Fragment: There is evidence that sometimes, even though something happens strongly, people do not feel excited or frightened, but sometimes trivial matters can greatly stimulate people, making their bodies as tense and angry as when they are angry. The following examples are even more evident: when nothing terrible happens, people still feel startled. If this is the case, then it is clear that the attributes of the soul depend on the matter. Therefore, their definitions must be consistent with this, for example, anger is the motion of a body, or the motion of a part, or the function of a body in a certain state for a certain reason and purpose. For this reason, studying the soul, whether all souls or a certain type of soul, is the business of the natural philosopher. The definitions given by natural philosophers and dialecticians are completely different, for instance, what is anger? The latter considers anger to be the desire for revenge or something similar, while the former regards anger as the boiling of blood or the increase in temperature around the heart. One answers in terms of matter, while the other answers in terms of form and principles. If there are principles in things, they must exist in the corresponding matter, for example, defining a house as a shelter from wind, rain, sun, and wind; while another defines a house as stones, bricks, and wood; and yet another defines it in terms of the form that serves these purposes and exists in this matter. To which type of person does the natural philosopher belong? Someone who is only concerned with matter and ignores the definition, or someone who is only concerned with the definition? Or both? And what about the others? Indeed, there is no one who is only concerned with the inseparability of the attributes of matter, or who regards attributes as inseparable from matter. The natural philosopher studies all the functions and attributes of this body or this type of matter, while other attributes are the subject of others. Some are the object of technicians, perhaps carpenters or doctors. Some attributes are originally inseparable, but through abstraction, they are regarded as not belonging to individual objects, which is the domain of mathematicians. Philosophy, on the other hand, studies those attributes that are completely regarded as separate. But we must return to the main point. We said that the attributes of the soul cannot be separated from the natural matter of living beings, and their nature exists in the matter, such as anger and fear, just like a straight line and a plane are inseparable.
Postscript: The common view holds that Aristotle often explores the origin of the universe based on unfounded assumptions. This fact is closely related to the limitation of Aristotle's thought to only Metaphysics and Physics. However, throughout many chapters on natural philosophy, Aristotle's works are filled with practical scientific perspectives, as evidenced by Volume III of the Complete Works of Aristotle. Volume III includes ten articles on natural philosophy by Aristotle, focusing on the principles and phenomena of life. Except for On the Breath, which is a pseudonymous work, the rest are by Aristotle. Categorized by topic, they can be divided into three groups. On the Soul, On Sensation and Its Objects, and On Memory explore the essence, functions, and life capabilities shared by the soul and the body. On Sleep, On Dreams, and On Signs in Sleep form an internally connected set of short essays. On the Length of Life, On Youth and Old Age, On Life and Death, and On Breath deal with physiological content, discussing how life is maintained within organisms and what causes death. Although these essays have obvious flaws and errors, it is astonishing that he made many guesses remarkably similar to scientific facts under extremely inadequate observation conditions. On the Breath, although a pseudograph, remains a useful source for studying Aristotle's thought due to the author's familiarity with many of Aristotle's views. The initial translation of Volume III was completed in April 1990, when my mentor, Professor Miao Litian, was ill but did not shirk his duties, correcting errors and adding omissions in the manuscript. Additionally, the publication of this book was greatly supported by the China Renmin University Press. Li Yanhui played a significant role in refining the translation, and I am deeply grateful for his efforts. Qin Dianhua, December 2, 1991.