Aristotle (335- 263 B.

C)
If Plato has his Academy, Aristotle has his Lyceum. It is in this school where Aristotle gathered his disciples who sat at his feet. The emphasis of Plato on human nature in the light of reason paves the way to the well-acclaimed thesis of AristotlePlatos most intelligent studenton man which says: Man is a rational animal. Man is animal rationale (not capax rationale or capable of reason). This is Aristotles famous dictum of man. Unlike his master, however, Aristotle maintains that there is no dichotomy between mans body and mans soul. Body and soul are in a state of unity. To Aristotle, mans body and soul are substantially united (it can be recalled, however, that Aristotle is the first philosopher to introduce the idea of substance). This means that in Aristotelian thought, there is no soulless body and soulless soul. Simply put, where there is soul, there is body, and vice-versa. In this unity, the soul acts as the perfect or full realization of the body while the body is a material entity which has a potentially for life. Per se, the body has no life. It can only possess life when it is united with the soul. In this regard, Aristotle speaks of man as a single essence, or substance, composed of body and soul (as mans matter and form principles). Mans body is matter (hyle in Greek) to the soul, while mans soul is form (morpos in Greek) to the body (thus, the combination of body, as hyle, and soul, as morpos, the term hylemorphism was introduced in Greek philosophy). That is why he speaks of soul as the bodys perfect realization because form for him is the perfect realization of matter. Soul is the principle of life; it causes the body to live. The body is matter to the soul and the soul form to the body. Body and soul, therefore, are inseparable. They constitute man as a whole. If soul, however, is the principle of life, the problem is that not all bodies are human bodies. Is this an intransigent problem in Aristotles philosophy? No. The solution to this lies in Aristotles concept of the kinds of soul. According to the philosopher, there are three kinds of soul: namely, vegetative, sensitive, and rational.
Vegetative soul is the lowest type which is found in all living things. Plants, specifically, possess this type of soul. Sensitive soul exists in animals. Rational soul exists only in man. That is why this type of soul is considered by Aristotle as the highest type because it has the power to unite itself with the lower parts, vegetative and sensitive.

For Aristotle, vegetative soul is capable of the following functions: It feeds itself, it groups, and it reproduces. On the other hand, the sensitive soul has these functions: It feeds itself, it grows, it reproduces, and it has feelings (particularly of pain and pleasure because it has developed a nervous system). While the vegetative and sensitive souls have these functions, the rational soul ranks highest because it assumes the functions of vegetative and sensitive souls. Besides, it is capable of thinking, reasoning, and willing. Man therefore, who is in possession of the rational soul is higher than the brutes, animals, and plants. Man is capable of thinking and judging aside from sensing and growing. In sum, Aristotles view of human nature is seen in his argument on the matter and the form in man. Man is essentially body and soul. Aristotle rejects the idea of Plato on the dichotomy of the soul and the body, and also Platos idea on the preexistence of the soul prior to the bodyno wonder our Christian doctrines which are patterned after Thomistic lines of thinking are more Aristotelian than Platonic. But Aristotle, like Plato, advocates reason as mans highest faculty because reason distinguishes man from other forms of life-possessing beings like plants and brutes.