Theology III

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Originally Posted by sisterandcousinandaunt

preceed the body? Exist beyond it?

Eh?

Originally Posted by Lief

I'm fairly sure I don't understand what you're saying here.

It's Aristotle's definition of the soul. A naturally organized body means a body which comes equipped with 'tools', so to speak, by nature, and not by artifice. This basically boils down to animals and plants. Actuality is contrasted with potency, which basically boils down to the power of a thing to be, so that actuality is the thing being so in reality. For instance, a six-year old is in potency an adult man, because he is able to become so; however, in actuality, he is a small child.

I find that the best way to distinguish between first and second actuality is by an analogy. First actuality can be considered to be like having knowledge, and second actuality can be considered to be like contemplating that knowledge. So, first actuality is like having something in actuality, while second actuality is like actually using it.

Originally Posted by Jonathan

Gwai quoted Aristotle
He believed the first thing a body needs to become alive, is a soul.

He went a bit further than that, and said that being ensouled was the distinguishing characteristic of living things. The soul is not just the first, but the only thing a body needs to be alive.

Originally Posted by Lief

Gwaimir, does Catholicism have much in the way of internal divisions and subgroups?

Lief, the response is simply mind-boggling. Are you talking along the lines of official divisions, or ideological/factional divisions?