12. The Soul as Substantial Form: Three Divisions

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Three Systematic Divisions #

Aristotle employs a methodical approach using divisions on two sides:

First Set (On the soul itself):

• Division 1: Soul exists in the genus of substance (not quantity, quality, or relation)
• Division 2: Within substance, the soul is form (not matter or composite)
• Division 3: As form, the soul is first act (not second act/operation)

Second Set (On that of which the soul is something):

• Division 1: The body is a natural body (not artificial)
• Division 2: A living body (having the capacity for nutrition and growth)
• Division 3: A body composed of tools/organon (having differentiated parts for different functions)

The Problem of Substantial Change and Resolution #

The Apparent Contradiction:

• When we say “the hard becomes soft” or “the healthy becomes sick,” we seem to say the hard is soft and the sick is healthy—a contradiction
• This led some (like Parmenides) to deny that change involves contradiction, concluding that what is hard remains hard and what is sick remains sick forever

The Solution:

• There exists a third thing besides the two opposites: an underlying subject
• The butter is the subject of hardness and softness, but not both at the same time
• The subject is in potency to both states but not able to be both simultaneously
• The word “healthy” confusedly signifies both health and the subject (body); it is the subject that changes, not the health itself

Consequence for Substance:

• Because substantial change occurs (men and dogs come into and pass out of existence), there must be matter and form in the very genus of substance
• This proves the soul cannot be merely an accident but must be a substantial form

Matter and Form in Substance #

• Matter: In the genus of substance, matter is pure potency—ability to receive form
• Form: What is acquired in change; the act that actualizes matter
• Composite: The unity of matter and form constitutes the complete substance
• Matter is in potency in a certain order: not equally related to all forms, but ordered toward them (e.g., matter under the form of water is in potency to a mixed body, which is then in potency to a living body)

First Act versus Second Act #

Definition and Distinction:

• First Act: A form; the principle that actualizes potency (e.g., the mind formed by learning geometry)
• Second Act: Operation; the exercise of the capacities given by form (e.g., actually thinking about geometric problems)

Why the Soul is First Act:

• An animal remains alive while sleeping, even though it ceases to operate
• If the soul were second act (operation), a sleeping animal would not be alive
• Therefore, the soul must be first act—the form that makes life possible, not the constant exercise of life’s operations

Order of Generation vs. Order of Knowing:

• In generation (temporal order): one must learn geometry before one can think geometrically
• In order of being: the form and the operation are ordered differently
• In order of knowing: the operation seems first (we recognize life by seeing activity), but the form is actually first in being

Equivocation in the Word “Body” #

The word “body” carries multiple meanings that must be carefully distinguished:

1. As a species of substance: When dividing substance into “bodies” and “angels,” body names a complete substance—a subject part
2. As a composing part: When saying “man is composed of body and soul,” body names the material component—a composing part
3. As organized matter: The matter under some organization but in potency to the soul’s form

Why This Distinction Matters:

• If body means pure matter (potency), it seems strange to call it a body at all
• The word “body” appropriately names matter that has received some form (e.g., the organization of organs) and is in potency to a higher form (the soul)
• Using “matter” alone suggests pure, remote potency; using “body” suggests proximate potency to the soul’s form

The Meaning of “Organon” (Tool) #

The Greek organon means “tool.” A living body is not merely “organized” but literally composed of tools:

• The eye is a tool for seeing
• The ear is a tool for hearing
• Different organs serve different functions
• This concreteness is lost in English translations using “organic” or “organized”

Key Arguments #

Argument from Substantial Change (establishing soul as substantial form) #

1. Men and dogs come into existence and pass away—substantial change occurs
2. In substantial change, something must remain (matter) and something must be acquired or lost (form)
3. Therefore, matter and form must exist within the genus of substance itself
4. The soul is the principle of life in living things; it must be the form that gives life
5. Therefore, the soul is a substantial form, not an accident

Argument from Sleep and Waking (establishing soul as first act, not second act) #

1. Animals sleep and cease to operate, yet remain alive
2. If the soul were second act (operation), a sleeping animal would not be alive
3. Since sleeping animals are alive, the soul must be present even when operations cease
4. Therefore, the soul must be first act (form), not second act (operation)

Argument from the Nature of Life (establishing the soul is form, not matter) #

1. The living body differs from the nonliving body not like “cat” differs from “dog” (completely different matter) but like “cat” differs from “act” (same matter, different form)
2. One can take nonliving things (water, minerals) and build them into living things, and vice versa
3. This shows the difference between living and nonliving is not in the matter but in the form
4. Therefore, the soul—the cause of life—must be form, not matter

Important Definitions #

Soul (Psyche) #

Full Definition: The first act of a natural body composed of tools, having life potentially.

Components:

• First act: The form that actualizes the body’s potential for living operations
• Natural body: A body that has an intrinsic principle of motion and rest (not artificial)
• Composed of tools: Having differentiated organs (organon), each suited to specific functions
• Having life potentially: Possessing the capacity for nutrition, growth, sensation, and/or reason

Substance (Ousia) #

In the genus of substance, there are three divisions:

• Matter (hylē): Pure potency; ability to receive form
• Form (morphē/eidos): Actuality; what makes matter be actually something
• Composite (syntheton): The unity of matter and form; the complete substance

Potency and Act #

• Potency (dynamis): Ability or capacity to be something; ordered toward act
• Act (energeia/entelecheia): Actuality; the realization of potency; form is act
• First Act: Form itself; the principle that makes something actually be what it is
• Second Act: Operation; the exercise of the capacities given by form

Substantial Form #

A form that exists in the genus of substance (not as an accident) and gives a thing its essential nature and unity. The soul is the substantial form of a living body.

Examples & Illustrations #

The Wax and Its Shape #

Illustrates the matter-form relationship:

• Wax receives different shapes
• The wax is like matter (potency)
• The shape is like form (act)
• The shape is not a separate thing added to the wax; it is the act of the wax’s potency
• Similarly, the soul is not a separate substance added to the body; it is the act of the body’s potency for life

The Words “Cat” and “Act” #

Illustrates how form differs from matter:

• “Cat” and “dog” are made of different letters (different matter)
• “Cat” and “act” are made of the same letters (same matter) but in different order (different form)
• The order is not made of the letters; it exists only in the letters
• Similarly, the soul is not made of matter; it exists only in matter
• Attempting to explain form as made from matter leads to infinite regress

Ordered Potency in Learning Geometry #

Illustrates that potency is ordered, not equally related to all forms:

• My mind is in potency to knowing what a square is
• My mind is in potency to knowing what a cube is
• But I cannot know what a cube is before knowing what a square is (in the strict sense)
• The potency is ordered: knowing a square must be actualized before the potency to know a cube becomes proximate

Stages of Love (St. Bernard of Clairvaux) #

Illustrates ordered potency in spiritual development:

1. Self-love: We love ourselves; no love of God
2. Useful love: We love God because He is helpful/useful to us (need-love)
3. Familiar love: Through prayer and acquaintance, we begin to love God for His goodness
4. Self-love for God’s sake: We love ourselves for the sake of God (rarely fully achieved in this life)

Key insight: We must progress through lower forms of love before achieving the highest—we cannot jump to loving God for His own sake without first loving Him for our own good.

Notable Quotes #

“One seeing, or one understanding, or one defining, or one syllogizing cannot be shared partially by two different men.” — Berquist, on the immanent nature of mental operations

“Nature loves to hide.” — Heraclitus (cited by Berquist regarding how the inner nature of substance is hidden from us)

Questions Addressed #

Why is the soul a substantial form rather than an accident? #

Resolution: Because substantial change occurs (generation and corruption of living things). In substantial change, matter and form must exist within the genus of substance itself. An accident can come and go without the substance ceasing to be; but when a living thing dies, its substantial form departs. Therefore, the soul must be a substantial form.

How can the soul and body be one if they are distinct? #

Resolution: They are not two complete substances juxtaposed like a sailor in a boat. Rather, the soul is the form (act) of the body’s matter (potency). Just as the shape of wax is not a separate thing but the act of the wax’s potency, the soul is the act of the body’s potency for life. Form and matter are intrinsically unified as act and potency.

Why does the soul remain when the body sleeps? #

Resolution: Because the soul is first act (form), not second act (operation). First act is the capacity for operation; second act is the actual exercise of that capacity. A sleeping animal is not operating but remains alive because the soul (first act) is still present, even though its operations (second act) are suspended.

Why is matter said to be “in a certain order” of potency? #

Resolution: Matter is not equally related to all forms. Rather, it is in potency to forms in a hierarchical order. For example, matter under the form of water is in potency to becoming a mixed body (like bronze or flesh), and matter under the form of a mixed body is then in potency to becoming a living body. One must proceed through this order; matter cannot leap directly from the form of water to the form of a living being.