Aristotle's Theory of Human Faculties

Faculties of a Human Being

• Aristotle categorized the faculties of a human being into four main categories: Nutrition, Sense-Perception, Desire, and Thinking.

Nutrition

• Nutrition is responsible for the preservation of bodily existence, growth, and reproduction.
• It ensures the individual's survival and the continuation of the species.

Sense-Perception

• Sense-Perception is divided into two types: Contact Senses (Taste and Touch) and Distance Senses (Seeing, Smelling, Hearing).
• Distance Senses serve a higher function, enabling humans to secure a higher form of existence beyond mere survival.
• Sight is considered superior to Touch in human beings, as it allows for better object distinction.

Desire

• Desire is categorized into three types: Appetite, Spiritedness, and Wish.
• Appetite is driven by immediately pleasant or painful sensations, focusing on life-sustaining pleasures.
• Spiritedness arises from emotions resulting from fulfilled or frustrated appetites, requiring a sense of self.
• Wish is a rational desire involving a sense of time, aiming for happiness and important components of it.

Thinking

• Thinking is divided into two types: Scientific Thinking (Pure Thinking) and Calculative Thinking (Practical Thinking).
• Scientific Thinking contemplates invariable truths and objects, perfecting sense-perception.
• Calculative Thinking contemplates variable things, perfecting desires.

Importance of Critical Thinking

• Critical thinking involves the examination of humanity's highest faculty, Thinking.
• Without critical thinking, practical thinking will not function well, making moral living impossible.
• Poor thinking makes one no different from plants and animals, emphasizing the importance of critical thinking.