Aristotle’s Hylemorphic doctrine is relevant to the concept of the body and soul.

It is
stated in this doctrine that every composite being is made up of two fundamental principles, the
prime matter and substantial form. Prime matter which is the body, and soul as the substantial
form. The existence of any composite being is made possible by the union of these two principles.
One composite being exists the moment the body and the soul unite. Aristotle recognizes matter
as pure potency since it has no act of itself. The form must be actuated upon. It determines
matter. Matter is the potentiality while form is the actuality. The body cannot exist without a soul
and the soul cannot exist without the body. This is contrary to Plato’s theory of forms. Plato
claimed that there are two worlds, the World of Forms and the World of Matter. He claimed that
the soul pre-existed in the World of Forms and in that world there is permanence. Everything in
the world of matter, the one we see, is just a mere copy from the world of forms. It is also in the
world of matter where change resides. But Aristotle considers the body and the soul as integral
and fundamental parts of the human person. Thus, the human person is an embodied spirit. From
the term embodied spirit, the soul is the form of the body, it makes the body one thing. Man
cannot exist without these two essential parts. The separation of the essential parts which is the
body and the soul, is death. It is because the soul is the one that informs the body, and the body
must be actuated by the soul, the body cannot exist when the soul separates with the body.

Aristotle claims that happiness is the end of man. Moreover, every action of man aims to
achieve something some good or end. We are guided by our reason in acting towards an end. We
act if we know that the object of that action is good. Happiness is the final good, and in order to
attain happiness we need wisdom. Intellectual virtue is required for the realization of happiness.
Happiness cannot be found in money or in material thins. Happiness is a state of mind, it is
intellectual. It is found in the soul. Thus, the two fundamental parts of the human person is
important in achieving the end of man, which is happiness.

This concept of Aristotle, the human person as an embodied spirit, was followed by St.
Thomas Aquinas. He is recognized as one of the greatest theologians of the Catholic Church. He
was appointed as a Doctor of the Church. Thomas followed Aristotle’s philosophy on the human
person as an embodied spirit, this is also the basic and fundamental belief of the Christian faith.

We are composed both of body and soul. The human person has a material aspect which is the
body , and the soul in the spiritual aspect. Thomas regards the human nature as more related to
spiritual aspect. The soul, is the first principle of life according to Thomas. Intellectual power
dwells in the soul, it is more important since through it man is able to understand and becomes a
unique being.

Man is not just a material being but also a rational and spiritual being. Through the
intellect and will, man has many possibilities in life.
 Aristotle considered the body and the soul as integral and fundamental parts of the
human person. Neither can exist or survive individually. The body wouldn’t be able to survive
without the soul and vice versa. They do not exist by themselves. A human being exists once the
body unites with the soul. Thus, making the human person as an embodied spirit. He mentioned
in his Hylemorphic morphic doctrine that there are two fundamental parts in every composite
being. That is the prime matter and the substantial form. He claims that the prime matter which
is the body, is pure potency. It cannot act on it’s own, it needs the form to be actuated upon. The
Prime Matter depends on the form for its act. It is also incorruptible because it is the subject of all
change.

Plato claimed that there are two worlds, the world of ideas where permanence resides and
the sensible world which is subject to change. He stated that the sensible world is just a mere
copy of the world if ideas and that the soul pre-existed in the latter. The sensible world is the
world of appearance and illusion, the shadow of the world of ideas. Thus, the real beings are in
the world of ideas. Opposing Plato’s theory, Aristotle contends that the material world is not pure
becoming; it has a permanence of its own because the nature inherent to individual things. For
Plato, man is a reflection of the combination of the world of ideas and the sensible world. Man is
defined by Plato simply as soul and the body served as its prison cell. Interestingly, Aristotle views
the happy match between the body and the soul unlike Plato who never went beyond his
pessimism of the body as mere prison cell of the soul. In Aristotle both the body and soul are
equally important as fundamentals of the human being. He stated that the body is the material
component of the person. It is not a substance separate from the soul, but integral with the soul.
Hence death, is the separation of the body and the soul.

There is one supreme end, or a final good for man according to Plato. He held that there
must be a final good in every man’s action which is desired for himself. Man doesn’t act unless he
thinks that the fruit of his deed is good. Man should establish something good and organize
everything in life for this particular end. The highest attainable good consists in the
contemplative activity of the intellect. The highest achievement of man is happiness and it is
achieved through constant exercise of wisdom which is contemplation. There are many ends in
life but man’s final end and purpose is to be happy.

The basic and fundamental belief of the Christian faith is extremely similar to Aristotle’s
concept of the human person as an embodied spirit. St. Thomas Aquinas followed this philosophy
of Aristotle whom is reffered to as “Philosopher” by Thomas. Using similar reasoning to that of
Aristotle, Thomas holds that by which the human soul is differentiated from other souls with the
act of understanding which is only found in humans.

The first thing by which the body lives is the soul, our form, is the primary principle of our
understanding that will lead us towards our end which is happiness.