According to Aristotle, soul is what makes things have life (Philosophy of the religion, n.d). He further held that there are three degrees of soul derived from the nested hierarchy of functions i.e. growth, location, and intellect. From these functions, therefore, Aristotle comes up with Nutritive soul, Sensitive soul, and rational soul. He further claims that the soul is not separable from the body (Aristotle on the Soul, 2004). On the other hand, Plato held that the soul is the main driving force in the body. It is what guides the mind creating and harmonious state of the mind (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2009).
The first person noted that the soul is created and instilled by God in the human body. He believes the souls is invisible, and helps in choosing the right and wrong. The second person claimed that the soul in itself is life. He further claims that the origin of life is the origin of the soul, and that it work by simply keeping one alive. The third person claims that soul is naturally found in all living things and as such human soul is not different from other animals. It works by keeping the animals and humans alive. It has no role in choosing right and wrong. The fourth person claims that the soul is the invisible desires that guide our actions. It is naturally created alongside life. The fifth person claims the souls is similar to life and is created by God.
The responses do not differ greatly from Plato’s and Aristotle’s views. All the respondents noted that the soul is largely life. The first, third, and fourth agree with Plato’s and Aristotle that soul guides the human life. The second person claims that the soul has no role in choosing right or wrong. I agree with the respondents on the nature of soul. Soul in itself is what drives life. However, I disagree with the source of soul; it was not necessarily created by God, but is inherent in life.
Work cited
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Ancient theories on soul. 2009. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ancient-soul/ on October 11, 2014.
Aristotle on the Soul. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ancient-soul/ October 11, 2014
Philosophy of Religion. Retrieved from http://www.scandalon.co.uk/philosophy/aristotle_body_soul.htm on October 11, 2014.
