Aristotle and Alexander of Aphrodisias on the Active Intellect

Abstract

Aristotle introduces the influential doctrine of the so-called active intellect in De anima III. According to Aristotle, as there are perceptible objects in reality, there are also intelligible ones, and he says that intellectual apprehension is like perceiving, something analogous to being affected by the intelligible object. Aristotle distinguishes between two changes when he talks about intellectual thinking. One is the very first reception of intelligible objects, which Aristotle compares to the acquisition of geometrical knowledge. The second change can only take place when the intelligible objects have already been received; it is a change from having them but not thinking, into actually thinking of them. As for Alexander of Aphrodisias, our knowledge of what he says about the role of the active intellect and its role in human cognitive development is found in his De anima . Alexander is well known for identifying the active intellect with god. Keywords: active intellect; Alexander; Aphrodisias; Aristotle; De anima