Soul, Consciousness, and Intentionality: An Inter-Traditional Philosophical Investigation
This research delves into the philosophical conceptions of consciousness and intentionality as they emerged within Ancient Greek and Islamic traditions, examining how these notions stemmed from humanity’s inherent drive to make sense of the world with an approach that focuses on drawing parallels between these traditions rather than tracing definitive origins. First, we begin by scrutinizing Plato’s and Aristotle’s theories of the soul as foundational to modern perspectives of the mind. Our analysis explores the interplay between these early soul theories and nascent ideas of consciousness while investigating how Ancient Greek thought harbored concepts analogous to consciousness and intentionality while also examining the underlying rationales for these concepts in Platonic and Aristotelian philosophy. The focus then shifts to Islamic intellectual heritage, specifically the soul-centric discourses of the Avicenna (Ibn Sinâ) in hope to analyze Avicenna’s findings on consciousness and intentionality, creating a conversation with Aristotelian thinking. This comparative perspective allows us to follow the evolution and spread of these concepts across many philosophical perspectives. The inquiry into potential precursors of consciousness and intentionality in Ancient Greek philosophy was spurred by the recognition that these concepts were later inherited and refined by thinkers like Franz Brentano and Edmund Husserl. While Ancient Greek vocabulary may lack direct equivalents for consciousness and intentionality, we contend that comparable notions can be discerned within their philosophical frameworks, particularly in theories of the soul as the essence of life and animation. By following the evolution of consciousness and intentionality through Ancient Greek and Islamic thought, this comprehensive investigation aims to provide readers with a nuanced grasp of these concepts, which still provoke discussion in modern philosophy. By examining these long-standing issues from a historical perspective, I aim to provide new insights into current debates about consciousness and intentionality
Ruh, Bilinç ve Yönelimsellik: Gelenekler Arası Felsefi Bir Soruşturma
Bu çalışma, insan zihninin dünyayı anlamlandırma merakıyla karşımıza çıkan bilincin ve bilincin doğasına özgü olan yönelimselliğin felsefi gelenekte kendisine nasıl yer edindiğini Antik Yunan ve İslam geleneği çerçevesinde ele almayı amaçlamaktadır. Burada bir köken araştırması değil, benzerlikler üzerinden bir sorgulama yapılmaktadır. Metinde zihin ile ilgili Modern yaklaşımlar açığa çıkartılmadan önceki ayak seslerini oluşturduğunu düşündüğümüz Platon’un ve Aristoteles’in ruh üzerine görüşlerinden yola çıkarak dönemin ruh kuramları ile bilinç arasındaki ilişkiyi değerlendirip bilincin Antik Yunan’daki benzerliklerini ve bunun yönelimselliği içerip içermediğine bakılacaktır. Burada bilincin ve yönelimselliğin Platon ve Aristoteles’te şekillenmesi meselesinde kendilerine hangi nedenlerle dayandırıldığı da ele alınmaya çalışılacaktır. Bunu takiben İslam geleneğinin büyük alimi İbn Sinâ’nın ruh üzerine söylemleri ışığında bilince ve yönelimselliğe dair görüşlerini ortaya koymaya çalışıp Aristoteles ile diyalog kurulmaya çalışılacaktır. Antik Yunan’da bilinç ve yönelimsellik fikirlerinin olup olmadığına dair araştırma yapılmasına vesile olan şey, bu kavramların Franz Brentano ve Edmund Husserl’e kendisinden önce gelen uzun ve karmaşık gelenekten miras kaldığının görülmesidir. Dolayısıyla Antik Yunan’da terminolojik olarak her ne kadar bir bilinç ve yönelim(sellik) kavramına rastlanmıyor olsa da ikisinin de benzer yönlerinin olduğu çıkarımlar doğrultusunda ileri sürebiliyor. Bu durumda, bilinç ve yönelimsellik, kendisini Antik Yunan lügatında yaşamın ve canlılığın ilkesi olan ruhta bulmaktadır önermesi öne sürülüp ruh kuramları üzerinden bir tartışma yürütülecektir. Kısacası, katmanlı ve yoğun ilerleyen metin, geçmişten günümüze hala tam anlamıyla bir fikir birliğine varılamayan bir probleme, bilinç ve bilincin kapsamı içerisinde yer alan yönelimselliğe dair okuyucular için bir fikir oluşturma gayesi taşımaktadır.
By examining the historical treatment of consciousness and its inherent property and intentionality in the philosophical works of Plato, Aristotle, and Avicenna (Ibn Sinâ), this research aims to uncover the conceptual threads woven throughout these different intellectual traditions, rather than to pinpoint their origins. It is argued that while Ancient Greek and Islamic philosophy lacked clear terminology for consciousness and intentionality, these concepts are nevertheless discernible in their rich soul-based theories. Moreover, we argue that these early formulations may have laid the groundwork for later notions of consciousness and intentionality, culminating in Edmund Husserl’s phenomenology
Our research begins with a close reading of Plato’s and Aristotle’s thoughts on the soul; and by careful investigation on their perspectives in the hope to provide light on the function of consciousness in Ancient Greek thinking and identify potential connections to intentionality. Though these philosophers did not use modern terminology, a nuanced analysis uncovers remarkable parallels with contemporary concepts. We also analyze why these philosophers related consciousness with soul theories and how this association may have supplied early insights into intentionality, a term that would become critical in subsequent philosophical discourse.
In general, although consciousness is the undisputed central concept of current research, ancient Greek philosophers’ understanding is important in terms of giving us an idea of what consciousness was at that time with discourses on the soul. Plato’s corpus describes consciousness as a non-spatial movement that encompasses all intellectual and emotional activity. Given Plato’s view of the soul as the root of all global occurrences and essentially conscious, we are able to contend that human actions such as thinking, volition, inquiry, and moral reasoning are akin to modern concepts of consciousness. When we examine the conscious activities of human beings in this mental movement from a contemporary perspective, it can be said to bear an indirect resemblance.
Nonetheless, while tracing intentionality in Plato’s work presents challenges, it ought to suggest that it manifests in his treatment of knowledge or being as always “directed toward something” – a notion that aligns with later formulations of intentionality, even if not explicitly termed as such.
Continuing with Aristotle’s views on consciousness, as found in his foundational work On the Soul (Peri Psûkhê, De Anima), it is first necessary to distinguish between potentiality and activity. According to Aristotle, the soul develops as the completion of a process that begins with potentiality and ends with activity. This process is essentially oriented toward achieving something similar to the deliberate nature of consciousness. This fundamental directedness is precisely why we examine Aristotle’s views on the soul in terms of consciousness and intentionality. From this perspective, we can define the soul by first differentiating between potentiality and activity and then questioning consciousness within this framework.
We then turn to Avicenna, whose work on the nafs (soul) and consciousness serves as a bridge between Ancient Greek thought and later medieval and modern developments. We examine Avicenna’s Flying Man thought experiment and its relation to Aristotelian metaphysics as crucial for understanding his conception of consciousness. By placing Avicenna in this dialog with Aristotle, we will be able to show how his elaboration on the soul further develops and refines the concepts of consciousness and intentionality.
One of the main motivations behind this study is the eventual recognition that Franz Brentano and Edmund Husserl’s nineteenth-century and twentieth-century discussions of consciousness and intentionality are heirs to a long and rich philosophical tradition that we argue upon, from Ancient Greek to Islamic philosophy and further to modern phenomenology. This conception has consistently dealt with the relationship between consciousness and its intentionality to objects. By tracing this complex legacy, we aim to highlight the historical depth of these concepts and provide a philosophical framework for understanding their development.
