The Physiology of Character in Aristotle

Research
Proposal
for
a
Fellowship
in
Ancient
Philosophy
at
the
Center
for
Hellenic
Studies
Mariska
Leunissen

Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
[email protected]

Research topic: the physiology of character in Aristotle Studies
of
Aristotle’s
conception
of
character
traditionally
focus
on
his
ethical
works
(e.g.,
Annas
1993;
Nussbaum
1986;
and
Sherman
1989).
In
the
Ethics ,
character
is
discussed
mainly
in
its
role
as
the
bearer
of
morality:
it
is
a
virtuous
state
of
character
that
disposes
one
to
perform
actions
that
hit
the
mean
and
that
are
therefore
praiseworthy.
Aristotle
emphasizes
that
these
states
of
character
–
and
not
just
our
actions
–
are
‘up
to
us
and
voluntary’.
Provided
that
we
receive
the
appropriate
moral
education
from
childhood
and
are
raised
in
a
properly
organized
city,
we
can
shape
our
character
by
performing
right
and
just
actions.1

However,
Aristotle’s
–
mostly
neglected
–
discussions
of
the
physiology
of
character
in
the
natural
treatises
offer
a
very
different
picture.
In
these
works,
character
is
treated
as
one
of
the
four
differentia
of
animals,
where
the
character
an
organism
has
is
determined
by
nature
and
is
influenced
mostly
by
external
causes
that
are
not
‘up
to
us’. 2
Since
Aristotle
considers
the
characters
of
animals
to
be
similar,
or
at
least
analogous,
to
those
of
humans
(HA. VIII.1,
588a18-b12;
cf.
Lennox,
1999
and
Lloyd,
1991),
it
is
reasonable
to
suppose
that
physiological
factors
will
equally
determine
the
kind
of
character
humans
have.
Indeed,
in
his
infamous
‘ethnography’
in
Pol. VII.7,
1327b18-1328a20,
Aristotle
suggests
that
the
types
of
character
a
tribe
has,
and
even
the
type
of
political
organization
it
is
capable
of,
depend
on
the
climate
where
it
lives
and
its
resulting
level
of
thumos (cf.
Heath
2008).

The
picture
that
emerges
from
the
natural
treatises
suggests
that
character
is
a
rather
fragile
attribute,
the
quality
and
stability
of
which
are
not
just
influenced
by
an
individual
striving
towards
the
good,
but
also
by
all
kinds
of
(uncontrollable)
biological
and
environmental
factors.
Although
Aristotle
consistently
holds
that
character
predicts
behavior,
character-traits
themselves
are
influenced
–
if
not
determined
–
by
situations;
they
are
not
the
stable
and
robust
entities
they
are
oftentimes
taken
to
be
in
the
scholarship
on
Aristotle’s
ethics.

I
propose
a
new,
comprehensive
account
of
Aristotle
on
character,
First,
I
will
systematically
analyze
Aristotle’s
physiological
discussions
of
character
as
they
appear
across
his
natural
treatises.
I
will
attend
to
(a)
Aristotle’s
physiological
conceptualizations
of
character;
(b)
the
scientific
methods
he
employs
in
his
natural
investigations
of
character;
and
(c)
the
cultural
and
scientific
context
in
which
Aristotle
worked.
Then
I
will
use
these
findings
to
reexamine
and
complement
the
views
about
moral
character
in
Aristotle’s
ethical
treatises.




















































1
It
is
this
view
of
character
that
has
continued
to
inspire
virtue-ethicists
and
moral
psychologists
to
the
present
day
(starting
with
Anscombe
1958;
for
an
overview
of
Aristotelianism
in
ethics,
see
Doris
2002,
1-27).
2
For
instance,
all
animals
with
blood
that
is
‘excessively
watery
are
more
timid’
( PA. II.4,
650b26-27),
all
lions
are
‘free
and
courageous
and
high-bred’
( HA. I.1,
488b16-17),
and
changes
in
character
occur
not
just
due
to
the
actions
taken
by
animals
( HA. IX.49,
631b5-8),
but
also
due
to
aging,
the
change
of
seasons,
or
in
consequence
of
being
castrated
( HA. IX.50,
631b19-21).

1
Research project and textual sources This
book-project
is
structured
around
the
following
four
main
parts,
which
will
initially
be
developed
as
independent
papers:

1. The Chemistry of Character First,
I
intend
to
uncover
the
material
causes
of
character
and
discuss
its
embodiment
(cf.
Lloyd,
1992
and
Van
der
Eijk,
1997).
This
includes
(a)
a
reconstruction
of
the
ratios
and
mixtures
of
elements
that
produce
character-traits;
(b)
a
discussion
of
the
physiological
distinctions
between
character-traits
and
emotions;
and
(c)
an
explanation
of
the
causal
relation(s)
between
character-traits
and
other
material
features
of
an
organism
(e.g.,
quality
of
blood,
size
and
shape
of
the
heart,
kind
of
food
eaten,
and
the
human
constitution
types,
like
‘the
melancholics’).
The
main
sources
for
this
part
are:
Generation and Corruption ;
History of Animals , Parts of Animals ,
On the Soul ,
Meteorology IV,
and
the
Ps.-Aristotelian
Problems (esp.
books
14;
27-30).
2. Character Change and Biological Variation Next,
I
propose
to
investigate
the
natural
efficient
causes
such
as
climate,
season,
disease,
and
aging
that
influence
character
and
its
biological
variations
across
and
within
species.
I
will
use
these
findings
to
put
Aristotle’s
ethnography
and
views
about
natural
slavery
into
a
biological
context
(following
Heath
2008).
My
main
sources
are:
History of Animals ,
Generation of Animals V;
the
Politics ;
and
the
Rhetoric (esp.
II.12-17).
I
will
also
make
use
of
more
or
less
contemporary
non-Aristotelian
texts
in
which
the
influence
of
climate
on
(ethnic)
character
is
explored,
e.g.,
Plato’s
Laws ,
the
Ps.-Aristotelian
Problems, selected
Hippocratic
treatises
(esp.
Airs
Waters
Places and
Nature of Man ),
and
Herodotus’
Histories.
3. The Science of Character For
Aristotle,
the
study
of
character
as
one
of
the
four
differentiae
of
animals
is
part
of
the
science
of
nature.
I
intend
to
analyze
the
numerous
scientific
methods
Aristotle
employs
in
his
investigation
of
character,
including
the
use
of
syllogisms
from
signs,
analogical
reasoning,
arguments
from
plausibility,
and
‘for
the
most
part’
demonstrations.
I
will
also
discuss
the
physiognomical
passages
in
the
Aristotelian
corpus,
in
which
Aristotle
assumes
there
to
be
a
unique
relation
between
character-traits
and
visible
bodily
signs.
The
main
sources
for
this
part
are
the
above-mentioned
biological
treatises,
the
Categories (esp.
VIII),
the
Prior Analytics (esp.
II.27),
the
Posterior Analytics ,
Ps.-Aristotle’s
Physiognomics ,
and
Hippocrates’
On Ancient Medicine.


4. The Physiology of Character and Ethical Naturalism Finally,
I
will
use
my
findings
concerning
Aristotle’s
physiological
views
about
character
for
an
analysis
of
the
naturalistic
assumptions
underlying
his
discussions
of
character
and
virtue
in
the
Ethics.
I
will
consider
the
relation
between
the
natural
capacities
for
character-traits
(i.e.,
the
natural
virtues)
and
the
character-virtues
acquired
through
habituation
(building
on
Lennox
1999);
the
force
of
Aristotle’s
analogy
between
children
and
animals;
the
role
of
the
possession
and
level
of
thumos in
the
development
of
virtuous
character;
the
extend
and
manner
in
which
nomos can
outweigh
the
influence
of
the
environment;
and
the
relations
amongst
the
biomedical
concept
of
krasis (elemental
blend),
Aristotle’s
biological
use
of
mesotês ,
and
the
ethical
concept
of
the
mean.
The
main
texts
for
this
part
are
the
Nicomachean Ethics ,
the Eudemian Ethics, and
the
Hippocratic
Airs Waters Places.

2
I
intend
to
finish
drafting
the
chapters
pertaining
to
the
first
two
parts
of
the
study
during
the
2010-2011
Fellowship
at
the
Center
for
Hellenic
Studies.


Innovations • The
proposed
research
will
result
in
the
first
comprehensive
study
of
the
physiological
underpinnings
of
character
in
Aristotle,
while
simultaneously
juxtaposing
those
findings
with
the
moral
theory
from
the
ethical
treatises
(thus
expanding
on
Lennox,
1999).

• There
is
a
growing
awareness
among
scholars
of
Aristotle
that
Aristotle’s
full
views
can
rarely
be
plucked
out
of
single
passages,
or
even
single
treatises
(cf.
Polansky
&
Wians,
in
progress).
However,
the
conceptual
and
methodological
connections
between
Aristotle’s
biology
and
his
ethics
are
still
largely
unexplored
territory
(cf.
Henry,
in
progress).
The
proposed
research
hopes
to
initiate
interest
in
this
topic
by
focusing
on
a
concept
that
is
of
great
importance
to
both
areas.

• By
studying
the
causal
relation
between
the
environment
and
human
character
in
Aristotle
within
its
cultural
and
intellectual
context,
the
proposed
research
will
also
contribute
to
the
relatively
recent
study
of
the
‘human
sciences
in
antiquity’
(cf.
Jouanna,
1999;
Sassi,
2001;
and
Thomas,
2000).


Selected references Annas,
J.
(1993),
The Morality of Happiness ,
Oxford. Anscombe,
G.
(1958),
‘Modern
Moral
Philosophy’,
Philosophy
33:
1-19.

Doris,
J.
(2002),
Lack of Character: Personality and Moral Behavior,
Cambridge.

Fortenbaugh,
W.W.
(1975),
Aristotle on Emotion ,
London.
Heath,
M.
(2008),
‘Aristotle
on
Natural
Slavery’,
Phronesis 53,
243-270.
Jouanna,
J.
(1999)
‘Hippocrates
and
the
Birth
of
the
Human
Sciences’,
in:
J.
Jouanna,


Hippocrates ,
Baltimore,
210-242.
Henry,
D.
(in
progress),
‘Bridging
the
Gap
between
Aristotle’s
Science
and
Ethics’.
Kamtekar,
R.
(2004),
‘Situationism
and
Virtue
Ethics
on
the
Content
of
Our
Character’,


Ethics 114:
458-91.
Lennox,
J.G.
(1999),
‘Aristotle
on
the
Biological
Roots
of
Human
Virtue’,
in:
J.
Maienschein


&
M.
Ruse
(eds.),
Biology and the Foundations of Ethics ,
Cambridge,
10-31.
Lloyd,
G.E.R.
(1991),
‘The
Invention
of
Nature’,
in:
G.E.R.
Lloyd,
Methods and Problems in Greek Science, Selected Papers ,
Cambridge,
417-434.
Lloyd,
G.E.R.
(1992),
‘Aspects
of
the
Relationship
between
Aristotle’s
Psychology
and
his


Zoology’,
in
M.C.
Nussbaum
&
A.O.
Rorty
(eds.),
Essays on Aristotle’s De
Anima,


Oxford,
147-67.
Polansky,
R.
&
W.
Wians
(in
progress),
Reading Aristotle: Argument and Exposition in the Corpus Aristotelicum.

Sassi,
M.M.
(2001),
The Science of Man in Ancient Greece ,
Chicago.
Sherman,
N.
(1989),
The Fabric of Character, Aristotle’s Theory of Virtue ,
Oxford.
Thomas,
R.
(2000),
Herodotus in Context: Ethnography, Science and the Art of Persuasion ,


Cambridge.
Van
der
Eijk,
Ph.
J.
(1997),
‘The
Matter
of
Mind:
Aristotle
on
the
Biology
of
‘Psychic’


Processes’,
in
W.
Kullmann
&
S.
Föllinger
(eds.),
Aristotelische Biologie: Intentionen, Methoden, Ergebnisse ,
Stuttgart,
231-258.

3