The thoughts and writings of Aristotle and Descarte about reality are similar in the sense that both philosophers use the concept of substance to define what reality is. For Descartes, the infinite Substance is God, the bodies of persons are considered extended substances and the mind of the people is the thinking substance.
Aristotle (384-322 BCE) defines reality as that which is actually in this world. He believes that we attain our knowledge of reality based on perceptual experience. He categorizes substances as being “primary substances” and “secondary substances.” An example of primary substance is man or person. All the other categories or groupings that this person would be classified under would be the secondary substances. Another example is horse. Its primary substance is being a horse and its secondary substance is the classification as animal. The primary substance, e.g., a tree, would not have opposites, unlike the secondary substance, e.g. branch of a tree which can be weak or strong. Therefore, everything that relates to the primary substance would be considered secondary substances. Primary substance is the concept of form while secondary substance refers to the concept of matter.
Two key concepts in Aristotle’s theory of reality is potentiality and actuality. Actuality means what something is already, while potentiality refers to what that thing has the power to become (Pomerleau, 33). So the tree is actually a tree. Its form is a tree. But then it has the potential to be something else. Its wood has the potential of become a desk or the bed. When that tree or wood is transformed into a bed then that new object becomes an actual bed. Aristotle emphasizes that a thing can only have the “potentiality” when it first contains the “actuality.”
Descartes (1595-1650) came out with his theory of reality 15 centuries later. Descartes holds a dualistic model of reality. He believes that reality is comprised of the physical realm and the mental realm. For him, man is composed of body (the physical) and mind (mental). The mental realm, also considered the realm of the soul, does not exist in the physical reality and therefore cannot be measured. During his time, this dualist perspective served to put a distinction between science and religion, with the soul belonging to the realm of the mind/soul and science focused entirely on the body. Also known as Cartesian Dualism, this theory of reality maintains that the mind and body are individual substances that are different from other. Thus, when a person dies, the soul would be separated from the body. The terms substance, essence, and accidents are key concepts in Descartes explanation about reality. Essence refers to that basic and primary nature possessed by a thing or substance. Substance is that which contains properties or attributes. Accidents would refer to all the other properties of something , those which that do not comprise the essence of that thing (Bailey, 22).
The theories of realities of Aristotle and Descartes are acceptable to the present day. Personally, this author agrees with the philosopher’s idea about things having an intrinsic property which bears the essence of such thing, like a tree being a tree. The delineation between body and soul is a convenient way to answer the unknown about death and soul. However, this writer believes that the mind of an individual could not be separated from his essence as a person.
Works Cited
Bailey, Andrew (ed). First Philosophy: Fundamental Problems and Readings in Philosophy, Volume II: Knowledge and Reality. Ontario: Broadview Press, 2004. Print.
Pomerleau, Wayne P. Twelve Great Philosophers: A Historical Introduction to Human Nature. New York: Ardsley House, 1997. Print.
