Blood, Pneuma, or Something More Solid? Aristotle on the Material Structure of Perceptual Apparatus

Abstract

This paper offers a novel perspective on Aristotle's thinking about the material structure of perceptual apparatus. It shows why the two traditional views (making the blood or the pneuma the vehicle of perceptual affections) are problematic.

And it offers an alternative view ascribing the crucial role to the blood vessels themselves.

Keywords

• Aristotle
• perception
• body