Aristotle, the Intellect, and Cognition  

作　　者：Thomas M. Robinson 

机构地区：[1]Department of Philosophy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5R 2M8, Canada

出　　处：《Frontiers of Philosophy in China》2014年第2期229-240,共12页中国哲学前沿（英文版）

摘　　要：It is argued in this paper that the famous ＂Active Intellect＂ of De Anima 3.5 is not God, as Alexander of Aphrodisias held, but rather an unchanging, eternally cognizing Intellect which serves as the indispensable condition for the operation of human intellect. It is ＂at the door＂ for each individual, ready to flow in as a stream of light--a light which renders potential objects of cognition knowable, just as visible light makes potentially visible objects visible--from outside that door （thyrathen） any time it is opened. Its existence cannot serve, however, as a proof of the immortality of human intellect, since, being unchanging, it can never possess a feature of human intellect which is characterized by nothing if not change, and that is memory.It is argued in this paper that the famous ＂Active Intellect＂ of De Anima 3.5 is not God, as Alexander of Aphrodisias held, but rather an unchanging, eternally cognizing Intellect which serves as the indispensable condition for the operation of human intellect. It is ＂at the door＂ for each individual, ready to flow in as a stream of light--a light which renders potential objects of cognition knowable, just as visible light makes potentially visible objects visible--from outside that door （thyrathen） any time it is opened. Its existence cannot serve, however, as a proof of the immortality of human intellect, since, being unchanging, it can never possess a feature of human intellect which is characterized by nothing if not change, and that is memory.

关 键 词：Active Intellect ARISTOTLE COGNITION DUALISM essentialism immortality memory perception Prime Mover soul 

分 类 号：O4-09[理学—物理] B848.5[哲学宗教—心理学]