The Powers of Aristotle's Soul

Johansen seeks in The Powers of Aristotle's Soul to establish Aristotle as the progenitor of faculty psychology, “the attempt to account for a multitude of psychological phenomena by reference to a few permanent or inborn psychological capacities” (1). Johansen draws support for this thesis from a comprehensive interpretation of Aristotle's treatise on the soul, De Anima (DA). According to Johansen, Aristotle endeavors in DA to explain the full range of life activities of organisms as diverse as plants, animals, and humans by reference to three basic psychological capacities: nutrition, perception, and intellect. The results of this approach are impressive: Johansen delivers an attractive interpretation of DA not only as systematic and internally unified but as continuous with Aristotle's natural philosophy as a whole. His detailed and incisive discussion will be of interest both to scholars of DA, who will find much to grapple with in these pages,...