15. The Soul as Form: Proportions and First Act

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Two Proportions Manifesting the Soul’s Nature #

• First proportion: Soul is to natural body as the ability to chop is to an axe
• Second proportion: Soul is to the living body as the ability to see is to the eye
• These analogies move from artificial (more known to us) to natural (the body’s organs)
• The proportions illustrate what inwardly makes something actually what it is

First Act vs. Second Act #

• The soul is a first act (entelekeia prote), not a second act
• First act: The form or ability that makes something actually what it is (e.g., the ability to see)
• Second act: The operation or exercise of that ability (e.g., the act of seeing, or chopping)
• A dead eye lacks the first act and is only equivocally called an eye
• An eye in a statue or painting has shape and color but lacks the ability to see
• The soul is not the operations of life but the principle enabling them

The Importance of Proportions in Discovery #

• A proportion (ἀναλογία in Greek) is a likeness of ratios, not mere similarity
• Distinguishing ratio (λόγος/logos): the order or relation of one thing to another
• Distinguishing proportion (ἀναλογία/analogia): the likeness of ratios
  • Example: 2 is to 3 as 4 is to 6 (same proportional relationship, not identical ratios)
• Proportional reasoning is essential in philosophy and science for discovery and understanding
• Examples: Einstein explaining the fourth dimension via 2D creatures in 3D space; Newton discovering the inverse square law through proportion with light’s behavior

The Inverse Square Law as Illustration #

• Light diminishes inversely as the square of distance (if distance doubles, brightness becomes one-fourth)
• Newton and contemporaries reasoned that gravity, spreading like light, must follow the same proportion
• A scientist demonstrates this by showing how a light-cast shadow becomes one-fourth as large when distance doubles
• This exemplifies how proportions guide discovery in natural philosophy

The Nature of Definition and Its Demonstration #

• A definition can include not just what something is but also why it is that way (the cause)
• Example: “Squaring is making an equilateral rectangle equal to an oblong rectangle” (definition by conclusion vs. by cause)
• Deeper definition: “Squaring is the finding of the mean proportional” (reveals the cause)
• The mean proportional between 4 and 9 is 6 (since 4:6 = 6:9, and 4×9 = 6²)
• Aristotle will reason from second acts (operations, more known to us) to first acts (the soul, more fundamental to reality)

Key Arguments #

The Axe Analogy #

• Raw materials (wood and metal) are an axe only in potentiality
• Once shaped and assembled, they actually become an axe
• The form (arrangement, shape) is what makes it actually an axe
• The ability to chop is the first act; chopping itself is the second act
• The soul is proportional to the form that makes the axe actually be an axe
• Mistake to avoid: The soul is not proportional to chopping (a second act) but to the ability to chop (the first act)

The Eye Analogy #

• If the eye were a natural body (a living thing), its ability to see would be its soul
• The eye is the matter (ὕλη/hyle) of sight; sight (the ability) is the form
• A dead eye lacks the ability to see and is only equivocally an eye
• A painted or statue eye has shape and color but not the power of sight
• Corollary: The soul is not separable from the body in mortal things, but some powers of the soul (especially the rational power) may be separable if they are not acts of any bodily organ
• Understanding and rational choice appear not to be acts of any part of the body; therefore, the soul’s existence is not entirely immersed in the body

The Nature of Proportion in Philosophy #

• The ability to see a proportion is crucial for philosophical understanding and scientific discovery
• Proportions are more important than mere verbal definitions for grasping reality
• Christ’s parables operate as extended proportions (e.g., “The Lord is my shepherd”)
• Theologians and philosophers constantly employ proportional reasoning to understand higher realities by analogy to lower ones

Important Definitions #

Soul (Ψυχή/Psyche) #

• Primary definition: The first act of a natural body composed of tools, having life potentially
• That by which we first live, sense, move, and understand
• The substantial form that makes a body actually alive

First Act (Ἐντελέχεια Πρώτη/Entelekeia Prote) #

• The form or ability that makes something actually what it is
• The principle enabling operations
• Contrasted with second act (the operation itself)
• Example: ability to see (first act) vs. seeing (second act)

Proportion (Ἀναλογία/Analogia) #

• A likeness of ratios between two relationships
• Distinguished from a mere ratio (λόγος/logos), which is the order or relation of one thing to another
• Example: As A is to B, so C is to D (if the relationships are similar)

Sight (Ὄψις/Opsis) - Equivocal in English #

• Can mean the act of seeing (operation, second act)
• Can mean the power of seeing (ability, first act)
• The soul is proportional to sight in the sense of power, not the act

Natural Body (Σῶμα Φυσικόν/Soma Physikon) #

• A body that has an intrinsic principle of motion and rest
• Composed of matter already somewhat organized before receiving the soul

Examples & Illustrations #

The Axe Example #

• Raw wood and metal are an axe only in potentiality
• Once shaped and assembled, they actually become an axe (acquiring the form that makes them an axe)
• The form enables the axe to be called an axe
• Chopping is a further act that occurs after the axe has its form (this is a second act)
• The point: The soul is proportional to what inwardly makes the axe actually be an axe (its form/ability), not to what the axe does (chopping)

The Eye Example #

• A living eye has the ability to see (its soul, proportionally speaking)
• A dead eye lacks this ability and is only equivocally called an eye
• A painted or statue eye has the shape and color of an eye but no power of sight
• The point: This illustrates that the soul is the power/ability, not the operation itself

The Inverse Square Law and Light #

• A light source casts a shadow on a wall
• When you double the distance, the shadow becomes one-fourth as large (not half)
• This geometric relationship (ratio squared) applies to gravity’s spread as well
• Newton reasoned proportionally from light’s behavior to gravity’s behavior

The Mean Proportional in Geometry #

• To square a rectangle with sides 4 and 9 (area 36), find a square with area 36
• The mean proportional 6 satisfies: 4:6 = 6:9, and 4×9 = 6²
• A definition stating merely “squaring is making rectangles equal to squares” lacks the cause
• A definition stating “squaring is finding the mean proportional” reveals the cause and is therefore deeper

Other Domains Where Proportions Guide Understanding #

• Waves: Higher drops produce longer wavelengths; shorter wavelengths correlate with greater energy
• Sound and light waves: Once the proportion holds for water waves, we can reasonably guess it holds for sound and light
• Theology: God’s relationship to creatures is known through proportions; the Fourth Lateran Council notes that any likeness must be accompanied by a greater unlikeness

Questions Addressed #

What is the soul proportional to in the axe analogy? #

• Answer: Not the chopping (which is a second act) but the form that makes the axe actually able to chop
• Clarification: Soul is to body as the ability to chop is to an axe, not as chopping is to an axe
• Error to avoid: Confusing the soul with the operations of life

Is the soul in the body as a sailor is in a boat? #

• Answer: No. A sailor can leave a boat; the boat continues to exist
• Correct view: The soul is in the body as form is in matter—they constitute one substance
• Analogy: The soul is in the body as the shape of wax is in the wax, or as the order of letters is in the word “cat”
• Implication: The soul does not leave the body like a sailor leaves a boat; the body dies when the soul departs

How can proportions help us understand higher realities? #

• Answer: By seeing a proportion between what is more known to us and what is less known
• Method: Start with what is clear and manifest to us; ascend to what is more fundamental but less immediately apparent
• Example: Einstein’s 2D creature in 3D space helps us grasp what a 3D creature in 4D space would experience

What is the relationship between ratio and proportion? #

• Ratio (λόγος/logos): The order or relation of one thing to another (e.g., 2 is to 3)
• Proportion (ἀναλογία/analogia): A likeness of ratios (e.g., 2:3 = 4:6)
• Historical note: The Greek word logos can mean both “reason” and “ratio” because reason knows the ratios between things

Why has the word “proportion” become confusing in modern usage? #

• Historical shift: Modern usage often conflates “ratio” and “proportion”
• Thomas Aquinas: Even Aquinas sometimes uses “proportion” to mean “ratio”
• Euclid’s usage: In Euclid, the distinction is clear—logos (ratio) and analogia (proportion as likeness of ratios)
• Implication: Careful reading requires attention to whether an author means a single ratio or a likeness of ratios

Notable Quotes #

“These are an axe only in ability, aren’t they? But after they’ve been shaped in a certain way and put together, then you actually have an axe.” — Berquist, illustrating the distinction between potentiality and actuality

“What is analogous to the soul is not what you have. You have the raw materials there of wood and metal, right? The soul’s not there yet.” — Berquist, clarifying what the soul is proportional to in the axe analogy

“The ability to see a proportion is very important for understanding things and for discovering.” — Berquist, on the centrality of proportional reasoning

“The soul is not the second act of the natural body, but it’s the what? First act, right?” — Berquist, emphasizing the soul’s nature as enabling principle rather than operation