Aristotele's notion of body and soul, and the opinion of this essay's writer.
What is Aristotele's notion of body and soul?
According to Aristotle, everything in the world is divided between superior and inferior. Man is superior to the animals, the male to the female, and the soul to the body. "The soul is more noble than our possesions or our bodies". Therefore, man should act through his soul, and not through his body. The soul services the greater good. If a man does not act from his soul, and thus lets his body rule the sole, he is not worthy of politics, and is a 'natural slave'. A natural slave is born to slavery. For him slavery is "both expedient and right", because they let the bodily pleasures, wants and lusts overrule rationality. The people w
If the body does not function, what good is a superior soul? If the soul does not function, what purpose do the actions of the body have? The body and the soul need each other. It is not a question which is more important, as this is irrelevant. Everybody needs a well-developed soul and a well-developed body to live fully, and know when to let the soul speak, and when to let the body speak.
ho do let the soul rule over the body are in the 'perfect state'. Because they succeed in seeing the grand scheme of things, that reason is more important than appetites, they are fit to be the rulers of the slaves.
On the other hand, rationality is not always the right path. Sometimes it is good to be kind to the body. Part of the joy in life is to do enjoyable things
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