A critique of two predominant views on the place of the Aristotelian psychology

Abstract

A problem pertaining to Aristotle’s psychology is about where its right place is. Should it be studied in the physics or in metaphysics or some part of it in physics and some other in metaphysics? There are two views concerning the place of psychology according to Aristotle’s philosophy of science. The first view which is the predominant holds that psychology is a physical science. This view insists on the close relationship between soul and body. The second view says that psychology has indeed two distinct parts. One part being studied in physics and the other part in metaphysics. According to this theory, the material souls are being studied in physics and the immaterial souls in metaphysics. It is true that the two theories find evidences in Aristotle’s books, but this article criticizes them and shows that in spite of the Aristotelian texts, one cannot consider psychology as a physical science.

Keywords

• psychology
• physics
• metaphysics
• on the soul
• aristotle