What is Truth? Aristotle

For Aristotle, the rational mind is essential to happiness. All humans possess a rational and a non-rational mind. The rational mind is able to look at the world and to make decisions using logic and reason. As logic and reason are elements of the rational mind and as the rational mind is directed always to the best for the individual, True human flourishing, the rational mind must be developed, fostered, and preserved for the sake of eudaimonia and, as it turns out, Beatific Vision. The non-rational mind, to Aristotle is similar to Freud’s id. Aristotle describes the non-rational mind as possessing the appetitive and the vegetative minds. The appetitive mind controls the desires and wants of the human person and is usually associated with vice. The appetites, to Aristotle, do not necessarily serve the pursuit of enduring happiness. Rather, the appetite is focused on immediate satisfaction of the material person. Without the direction of the rational mind, the non-rational mind is fixated on the material world inside the Pit. However, as will be described later, the appetites can be formed and trained by the rational mind to orient one’s actions toward eudaimonia. The vegetative mind controls the autonomic functions of the human person. These are the things that cannot be controlled by the rational mind but are essential to the normal functions of the human body. For example, the vegetative mind controls breathing, circulation, digestions, etc… Aristotle does not explore how the rational mind can control or direct the vegetative mind, although it may be possible if one considers some eastern philosophies and modern techniques. It is the relationship between the rational mind and the non-rational appetitive mind that most interests Aristotle in the pursuit of eudaimponia.

Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. The pursuit if education should be oriented toward the development of the the rational mind, ultimately, for the purpose of happiness. (photo P. Smith)