110. Intellectual Memory and the Retention of Forms

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

• Intellectual Memory vs. Sensory Memory: Whether the understanding can conserve species (universal forms) independently of bodily organs, and whether this constitutes genuine memory
• Avicenna’s Challenge: The objection that understandable forms cannot persist in the intellect after the act of understanding ceases, since the intellect has no bodily organ for retention
• The Principle of Reception: The foundational Aristotelian principle that what is received in something is received according to the mode of the receiver (non secundum modum rei susceptae sed secundum modum recipientis)
• States of the Intellect: The distinction between pure potency, habitual knowledge (first act), and actual understanding (second act)
• Immateriality and Stability: The claim that the immaterial intellect must retain forms more stably than bodily matter does

Key Arguments #

Thomas’s Position (Against Avicenna) #

• The intellect, being immaterial and unchangeable by nature, must preserve received forms with greater stability than any bodily organ preserves sensible forms
• What is received is received according to the mode of the receiver; therefore, the immaterial intellect necessarily retains forms in an unchanging manner
• The bodily senses receive forms passively through physical alteration; yet they retain forms even when not actively sensing. The intellect, being more stable and immaterial than bodily matter, must retain forms even more stably
• Forms exist in the intellect in a middle state between potency and act: habitual knowledge, where the mind can operate when it chooses without needing to relearn

The Problem of Pastness and Singularity #

• Memory traditionally requires knowledge of the past as past, yet the past as past is singular and determined in time
• The intellect directly understands universals, which are neither past nor future
• However, the intellect can know that it has understood something before—it can reflect on its own past acts
• This reflection is an immaterial act, allowing the intellect to know itself and its own acts in a way that does not require reduction to sense memory

Important Definitions #

• Habitual Knowledge (First Act - ἐνέργεια πρώτη): The state where the understanding has received understandable forms and possesses the ability to operate through them when it chooses, though it is not currently exercising this act
• Second Act (ἐνέργεια δευτέρα): The actual exercise of understanding; the mind actively thinking about or contemplating something
• Universal Species/Forms: Immaterial intelligible forms representing what is common to many particulars, conserved in the intellect and not derived from bodily organs
• What is Received is Received According to the Mode of the Receiver (quidquid recipitur, recipitur ad modum recipientis): Principle stating that the manner of reception depends on the nature of the recipient, not the nature of what is received
• The Past as Past (praeteritum ut praeteritum): The past considered formally as singular, determined in a particular time, pertaining to sense memory rather than intellectual knowledge
• Soul as Place of Forms (ψυχή τόπος εἰδῶν): Aristotle’s dictum that the understanding is the place where universal forms are retained

Examples & Illustrations #

Learning Geometry #

Before learning Euclid, one cannot understand the Pythagorean theorem even if one desires to. After learning and mastering geometry, one can understand theorems whenever one wishes, without relearning. This illustrates the middle state: habitual knowledge allows the mind to operate at will, whereas pure potency does not.

Fire Applied to Different Materials #

Fire produces different effects on different substances: some melt, some harden, some soften. This demonstrates that what is received depends entirely on the mode of the receiver, not on the agent acting.

Seeds Falling on Different Soil (Gospel Parable) #

Seeds falling on different ground produce different results: some sprout abundantly (30-fold, 60-fold, 100-fold), others fail to grow. The earth or ground is the receiver; the richness or stoniness of the soil determines the outcome.

The Sleeping Man #

A sleeping man still possesses the power of sight and is not blind, yet he is not actually seeing. He must open his eyes to see again. Similarly, the intellect retains universal forms in habitual knowledge but must direct its attention (turn itself and choose to think) to exercise actual understanding.

The Problem of Understanding Quality #

Students hearing the same lecture receive it differently based on their intellectual capacity. One student may understand clearly and repeat the lecture; others may understand little or nothing. This illustrates that what is received is received according to the mode of the receiver.

Lafayette Judging Paintings of Washington #

Lafayette, after years abroad, could judge paintings and statues of George Washington, comparing them to his retained knowledge of Washington. This shows that the intellect retains knowledge of singular individuals in an immaterial way, allowing reflection on past understanding without requiring sense memory’s grasp of the “here and now” of the past.

Questions Addressed #

Q: Can the intellect retain universal forms when not actually thinking about them? #

A: Yes. The intellect, being immaterial and of unchangeable nature, naturally retains forms in a stable way. This state is called habitual knowledge (first act), distinct from actual understanding (second act). Evidence: we can learn geometry, then think about other things, and later understand geometric theorems again without relearning them.

Q: Is intellectual memory a distinct power from understanding? #

A: No. Memory and understanding are the same intellectual power functioning in different modes. Memory refers to the conservative or retentive aspect (conserving species), while understanding refers to the active aspect (actually thinking). The power is one; the operations are two.

Q: How can the intellect know the past? #

A: The intellect does not directly know the past as past (which is singular and belongs to sense memory). However, the intellect can know that it understands something, and this act of knowing one’s own understanding is an immaterial act that can be reflected upon. For the singular “here and now” of when something was understood, one must return to sense memory.

Q: Why is Avicenna’s position incorrect? #

A: Avicenna failed to recognize that what is received is received according to the mode of the receiver. He assumed the intellect must function like bodily organs and cannot retain forms without bodily alteration. But the immaterial, unchangeable nature of the intellect ensures that forms are retained more stably than in any bodily organ.

Core Principle #

The entire discussion rests on Aristotle’s principle from De Anima III: the intellect is “the place of forms” (τόπος τῶν εἰδῶν). Because the intellect is immaterial and stable, it necessarily preserves understandable forms, making intellectual memory not a distinct power but the conservative aspect of understanding itself.