Title
Aristotle on the Impossibility of Defining Life
Description
Video recording of a lecture delivered on October 1, 2021, by Christopher Frey as part of the Formal Lecture Series.
Dr. Frey is an Associate Professor in the Philosophy Department at the University of South Carolina.
Dr. Frey describes his lecture: "What unites the millions of biological species that populate our universe and sets them apart from its inanimate remainder? Why should we consider activities as diverse as an amoeba dividing, a saffron crocus blooming, a Bengal tiger stalking its prey, and a human contemplating the heavens to be manifestations of a single thing, namely, life? This is one of the central questions Aristotle confronts in De Anima. He attempts to answer it in a familiar way: he provides a definition of life’s principle—the soul. But he is pessimistic about his purported definition’s adequacy. Life, Aristotle insists, cannot be defined properly. By his own lights, this renders any attempt to define soul, including his own, “foolish.” But what is it about life that makes definition impossible? And if we cannot define life, is there any unity at all to be found in the remarkable variety of ways that organisms pursue their lives?”
Dr. Frey is an Associate Professor in the Philosophy Department at the University of South Carolina.
Dr. Frey describes his lecture: "What unites the millions of biological species that populate our universe and sets them apart from its inanimate remainder? Why should we consider activities as diverse as an amoeba dividing, a saffron crocus blooming, a Bengal tiger stalking its prey, and a human contemplating the heavens to be manifestations of a single thing, namely, life? This is one of the central questions Aristotle confronts in De Anima. He attempts to answer it in a familiar way: he provides a definition of life’s principle—the soul. But he is pessimistic about his purported definition’s adequacy. Life, Aristotle insists, cannot be defined properly. By his own lights, this renders any attempt to define soul, including his own, “foolish.” But what is it about life that makes definition impossible? And if we cannot define life, is there any unity at all to be found in the remarkable variety of ways that organisms pursue their lives?”
Creator
Publisher
Coverage
Annapolis, MD
Date
2021-10-01
Rights
A signed permission form has been received stating: "I hereby grant St. John's College permission to: Make an audiovisual recording of my lecture, and retain copies for circulation and archival preservation in the St. John's College Greenfield Library. Make an audiovisual recording of my lecture available online. Make a typescript copy of my lecture available for circulation and archival preservation in the St. John's College Greenfield Library. Make a typescript of my lecture available online."
Type
text
Format
mp4
Contributor
Language
English
Identifier
Frey_Christopher_2021-10-01access
Original Format
mp4
Duration
00:52:50