Book 1 / Chapter 13
Paragraph 3 - The Vegetative Element of the Soul
Explanation - Part By Part
"Of the irrational element one division seems to be widely distributed, and vegetative in its nature, I mean that which causes nutrition and growth; for it is this kind of power of the soul that one must assign to all nurslings and to embryos, and this same power to fullgrown creatures; this is more reasonable than to assign some different power to them."
Aristotle is explaining that one portion of the "irrational" part of the soul is responsible for basic life functions like nutrition and growth. This is the part of the soul that is present in all living beings, whether they are infants, embryos, or fully developed adults. It’s a universal feature of life, meaning it’s not unique to humans. Essentially, this is the fundamental function that sustains life and allows living things to grow and nourish themselves, and it applies to all living creatures in the same way—not requiring any special distinction between them.
"Now the excellence of this seems to be common to all species and not specifically human; for this part or faculty seems to function most in sleep, while goodness and badness are least manifest in sleep (whence comes the saying that the happy are not better off than the wretched for half their lives; and this happens naturally enough, since sleep is an inactivity of the soul in that respect in which it is called good or bad), unless perhaps to a small extent some of the movements actually penetrate to the soul, and in this respect the dreams of good men are better than those of ordinary people."
Aristotle is examining a part of the soul he calls the "irrational" or vegetative aspect, which is responsible for basic life functions like nutrition and growth. He notes that this aspect is not uniquely human—it's something all living beings share, from plants to animals. He makes an interesting observation about how this vegetative part functions most clearly during sleep. In sleep, people are neither morally good nor bad because this is a time when the rational and ethical dimensions of the soul, tied to conscious action, are inactive. Essentially, during sleep, the soul isn't operating in ways that reveal character or virtue.
He points out a common saying: "The happy are not better off than the wretched for half their lives," implying that since everyone spends a large part of their life asleep, and sleep is amoral, the distinction between happiness and misery disappears during those hours. Sleep, therefore, levels the playing field in terms of moral action and emotional experience.
However, Aristotle does consider that perhaps some small part of the soul is still active during sleep, as seen in dreams. For instance, he suggests that good people may naturally have better dreams than those who are less virtuous. This implies that even when the rational part of the soul is "asleep," who we are—in terms of our moral character—may subtly influence the kind of experiences we have in dreams.
In summary, this part of the soul (the vegetative, life-sustaining part) has no role in defining human excellence (virtue or character). It's simply a biological necessity shared across all living things—and while dreams might hint at some deeper activity, this aspect of the soul remains separate from the qualities that make us human in the ethical sense.
"Enough of this subject, however; let us leave the nutritive faculty alone, since it has by its nature no share in human excellence."
In this part, Aristotle is essentially saying that the "nutritive faculty"—the part of the soul responsible for basic functions like nutrition and growth—is not relevant when talking about what makes a person excellent or virtuous. Why? Because this faculty isn’t unique to humans; it’s shared with all living things, like plants and animals. It operates automatically and has no role in moral or intellectual qualities, which are the focus of human excellence. So, he decides to set this aside and focus on other aspects of the soul that are more connected to what makes someone a good or virtuous person.