martedì 27 ottobre 2015

ARISTOTLE: the concept of DESIRE

PARODI MARIA RAFFAELLA M5 – Progettazione: materiali e sussidi didattici
Titolo del modulo: “ON THE BORDER BETWEEN PHILOSOPHY AND PSYCHOLOGY: THE CONCEPT OF DESIRE”
1) ARISTOTLE 2) DESCARTES/SPINOZA 3) FREUD/LACAN”
UDA n. 1 Desire in Aristotle

It’s a central concept in Aristotle‘s ethical and psychological works, but he does not provide us with a systematic treatment of the notion itself. Aristotle comes to the conclusion that there is a faculty of desire (orektikon) whose occupation it is to initiate animal motion. (Perhaps his initial reservations pertained only to one species of desire considered in isolation). In any case, he says plainly: “It is manifest, therefore, that what is called desire is the sort of faculty in the soul which initiates movement” (De Anima iii 10, 433a31-b1). He understands this conclusion, however, in tandem with another which also serves as a qualification of his earlier finding that mind cannot be the source of motion.
He holds, in fact, that it is reasonable to posit two faculties implicated in animal movement: desire and practical reason (De Anima iii 10, 433a17–19), though they do not work in isolation from one another. Practical reason is a source of movement when it focuses upon an object of desire as something desirable. So, practical reason and desire act corporately as the sources of purposive motion in all animals, both human and non-human (De Anima iii 10, 433a9-16), even though, ultimately, it is desire whose objects prick practical intellect and set it in motion (De Anima iii 10, 433a17–2).


For this reason, Aristotle concludes, there is a faculty of desire whose activities and objects are primarily, if not autonomously or discretely, responsible for initiating end-directed motion in animals. What animals seek in action is some object of desire which is or seems to them to be good.

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        1. After reading the text “desire in Aristotle”, answer the questions: TRUE OR FALSE?

 Correct the false sentences

Answer the questions:

  • Aristotle provides us with a systematic treatment of the notion of desire              T           F
  • desire is the sort of faculty in the soul which initiates movement                         T           F
  • Mind can be the source of movement                                                                  T           F
  • one faculty is implicated in animal movement                                                     T          F
  • every kind of object can be an object of desire                                                   T          F
 
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Giles Pearson “ARISTOTLE on DESIRE” https://ndpr.nd.edu/news/39579-aristotle-on-desire/
READ and GO to the comprehension...
Aristotle discusses desire in his psychological, biological, and ethical treatises. Perhaps, the fact that there is no systematic account of desire in any of his existing works explains why few commentators focus on the nature of desire itself, and instead direct their attention to the role it plays in other aspects of Aristotle's philosophy, focusing on the object of desire.
Moreover, Aristotle has something to contribute to contemporary discussions concerning the philosophy of desire, on virtue and non-rational desire.
There are some issues that can be raised against his interpretation of specific desires, particularly that one called thumos (impulse). Aristotle claims that we are moved to action only when we grasp the object of desire, when we move towards a scope, an aim of orexis (Aristotle's word for illustrating desire in general ).
However, we can think about how good or pleasant it would be to take a walk, for example, without being moved to do so.  The key to understand orexis is determining what Aristotle means by the "good." 
Also in the Topics, we find thumos, in Nicomachean Ethics, thumos is represented as an "essential component" of courage.
Finally, we can tell that Aristotle vision about desire is a welcome resource for those interested in Aristotle's psychology, as well as those working on the philosophy of desire. There will be many interesting debates concerning the nature of desire in Aristotle.


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 2. After reading the Giles Pearson text, answer: 
"What do you know about Aristotelian different definitions of desire?" Complete the sentences (1-9) with the names/words/sentences (A-M).
 


1 Few commentators focus on _____                                                         A Nicomachean Ethics

Aristotle claims that we are moved                                          B essential component of courage
to action when _____
                                                                                              C thumos
3 Also in the _____ we find _____
                                                                                              D good
4 thumos is a sort of _____
                                                                                              E we grasp the object of desire
In ______ thumos is represented as an _____
                                                                                               Aristotle's conception of good
The aim of desire is ______
                                                                                               G impulse
The key to understand orexis is _____
                                                                                               H the nature of desire
Many commentators focus on _____
                                                                                                I  the object of desire
Man can desire to do something _____
                                                                                                L Topics

                                                                                                M  without being moved to do so



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3. What do you remember about the power point tasks on Aristotle that you performed to start your CLIL course?
       Write 4 simple sentences illustrating the main points of aristotelian philosophy.


You can help you looking at the following websites and at the visual organizer below: 



4. Read the following words and create a visual organizer

soul - plants - Aristotle - animals – form - the lowest kinds of souls - reasoning soul – aim higher soul - humans - something desirable – desire – movement – object - good – matter
practical reason - faculty

5. Read and   fill the gaps.   You have to use the words below the text.  One word has to be used twice. 

In Aristotle approach, good character should manifest itself in ____ and three ____ must be present before a certain behavior can be called a ____ act:
  • First, we must understand what we are doing and why it is ____
  • Second, what we do, must be ____ chosen
  • Finally, the “action must preceed from a firm and ____ character”.
An honest act is virtuous only if one does it because one is honest.
Happiness is not ____ because we have got rational _____, it's a sort of ____ driven by ____ soul. All men, by nature desire ____ , all human ____ have one or more of these causes: ____, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion and desire.

freely - behavior – chance - reasoning - good – to know - unchangeable - capabilities – pleasure – activity – conditions – actions -



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6. Ancient philosophers and contemporaneity:

argue about Aristotle's statement below and write a few considerations about the topic.



It is of the nature of desire not to be satisfied, and most men live only for the gratification of it” Aristotle
Look at the image below






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    1. Step finale UDA n. 1: Autovalutazione studente
      Autovalutazione insegnante





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