What is the Most Divine Thing in Us? A Criterion for Interpreting De Anima 3.4–5

Abstract: The authors propose and explore conditions of adequacy for human interpretations of Aristotle’s De anima 3.5. Given the descriptions of that chapter, if the agent intellect is human, then it would be our most godlike capacity or principle, and thus should play a commensurate role in our most godlike activity, contemplation. The receptive intellect of 3.4, however, clearly also plays some essential role in human contemplative activity. The authors apply these constraints jointly in a critical review of representative interpretations.