The Intellect as the True Self According to Aristotle

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Introduction With Aristotle we know that reason is what sets man apart from plants and every other animal and that the continent man is one who has mastery over his appetites with the aid of his practical reason. In this philosophical discourse, I shall deal exclusively with Aristotle’s identification of the man with his intellect, reason vis-à-vis continence and incontinence, reason vis-à-vis the voluntary actions of man, and the interpersonal relationships of man. Without further ado, let us inquire into all these. The intellect as the true self We can define reason as “the capacity human beings have to make sense of things, to establish and verify facts, and to change or justify practices, institutions, and beliefs.” From this definition, it follows that reason is that which distinguishes man from plants and other animals and to realize oneself as a rational being is to live and act according to reason. Aristotle asserts that the most excellent and happiest way of life is the life of the intellect and that the intellect is man. Hence, “…this would seem, too, to be each man himself, since it is the authoritative and better part of him…for man, therefore, life according to reason is best and pleasantest, since reason more than anything else is man.” For him, although the intellect is small in bulk, it is the authoritative and superior part of man and so man is to identify himself with his intellect. It would be quite incongruous if man identifies himself with his appetites other than his intellect since that would mean that he is rejecting his true self and identifying himself with that which is not his true self. Besides, for Aristotle, “if we speak of him qua man, he must have the power of reasoning, a governing principle…” Unlike a city or composite system which is identified with its most authoritative element because it makes decisions on behalf of the

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