PHI 240 FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS AND VERIFIED
ANSWERS
How does Aristotle define nature? What are the distinctions between 'having a nature'
and 'existing by nature'? (Physics II 1-2) - Answers - Having a nature means that you
have an internal principal motion in rest (plants, animals, humans, cosmos, etc.).
Existing by nature means that you live alongside the things that do have an internal
principal motion of rest (mountains, sand, etc.).
Aristotle's definition of soul, and the distinct powers of soul (those being, vegetative,
animal, and human). (On the Soul II 1-3) - Answers - First actuality of a body capable of
life. To be a plant is to be a process of maintaining itself with nutrition. To be an animal
is to be a being that can take on the form of the world around it without the matter
(sensation) and also to be able to move oneself. To be a human is to be receptive to
concepts/to have passive intellect/mind/thinking.
In what respect is the principal vegetative power "active" for Aristotle, while the principal
animal power is "passive"? (On the Soul II 4-5, 12) - Answers - active; doing something
to something- vegetative
passive; receptivity of the activity without doing the thing. sensation- animal
What is Aristotle's account of Mind or Intellect? What are its unique characteristics,
compared to theother powers of the soul? How (and why) does Aristotle make use of a
comparison between sensation and intellect in his discussion in Book III, chapter four of
On the Soul? (On the Soul III.4-5) - Answers - There are no organs of intellect like there
are organs of sense. Sensation is the thing acting upon you
What is the meaning of the distinction between "active" and "passive" intellect? (On the
Soul III.4-5) - Answers - Active intellect is to create ideas, and it is always divine.
Passive intellect is understanding ideas, experiencing them and receiving them.
What is the so-called "functional argument"? (Nicomachean Ethics I.7) - Answers - The
function of a human being is to be a mixture of rational and irrational parts that can be
shaped by reason. If the rational parts
Why does Aristotle consider one part of the soul both irrational and in a sense rational?
(Nicomachean Ethics I.13) - Answers - Rational: Does account for what it does.
Irrational: Not something that you need to think about for it to be done. Emotional life.
Both: desires, sensations, does whatever it wants but we can shape it with moral
virtues. How you experience the world and how you act upon it. Use this to help
improve our habits.
ANSWERS
How does Aristotle define nature? What are the distinctions between 'having a nature'
and 'existing by nature'? (Physics II 1-2) - Answers - Having a nature means that you
have an internal principal motion in rest (plants, animals, humans, cosmos, etc.).
Existing by nature means that you live alongside the things that do have an internal
principal motion of rest (mountains, sand, etc.).
Aristotle's definition of soul, and the distinct powers of soul (those being, vegetative,
animal, and human). (On the Soul II 1-3) - Answers - First actuality of a body capable of
life. To be a plant is to be a process of maintaining itself with nutrition. To be an animal
is to be a being that can take on the form of the world around it without the matter
(sensation) and also to be able to move oneself. To be a human is to be receptive to
concepts/to have passive intellect/mind/thinking.
In what respect is the principal vegetative power "active" for Aristotle, while the principal
animal power is "passive"? (On the Soul II 4-5, 12) - Answers - active; doing something
to something- vegetative
passive; receptivity of the activity without doing the thing. sensation- animal
What is Aristotle's account of Mind or Intellect? What are its unique characteristics,
compared to theother powers of the soul? How (and why) does Aristotle make use of a
comparison between sensation and intellect in his discussion in Book III, chapter four of
On the Soul? (On the Soul III.4-5) - Answers - There are no organs of intellect like there
are organs of sense. Sensation is the thing acting upon you
What is the meaning of the distinction between "active" and "passive" intellect? (On the
Soul III.4-5) - Answers - Active intellect is to create ideas, and it is always divine.
Passive intellect is understanding ideas, experiencing them and receiving them.
What is the so-called "functional argument"? (Nicomachean Ethics I.7) - Answers - The
function of a human being is to be a mixture of rational and irrational parts that can be
shaped by reason. If the rational parts
Why does Aristotle consider one part of the soul both irrational and in a sense rational?
(Nicomachean Ethics I.13) - Answers - Rational: Does account for what it does.
Irrational: Not something that you need to think about for it to be done. Emotional life.
Both: desires, sensations, does whatever it wants but we can shape it with moral
virtues. How you experience the world and how you act upon it. Use this to help
improve our habits.
