On The Concept Of "No?s" In Anaxagoras’ And Aristotle’s Philosophy

Since Anaxagoras put forward the concept of "Nous",Both Plato and Aristotle paid special attention to "Nous",and thus the concept of "Nous" became an important concept in ancient Greek philosophy.But domestic western philosophy research has not paid enough attention to the concept of "Nous" in ancient Greek philosophy,let alone analysis the relationship between two philosophers’ concept of "Nous".In view of that,this paper attempts to do it.This paper intends to explore the relationship between Aristotle’s concept of "Nous" and Anaxagoras’ concept "Nous".The author believes that the exploration of the relationship between the two will help to understand Aristotle’s philosophy.This paper takes the following process.First,it clarifies Anaxagoras’ concept of "Nous" based on the extant fragment of Anaxagoras;second,it examines Aristotle’s criticism of Anaxagoras’ concept "Nous";and finally it investigates Aristotle’s own concept of "Nous",especially the concept of "Nous" in De Anima 3.4,3.5,and Metaphysics 12.7-9,and at the same time it reveals its connection with Anaxagoras’ concept of "Nous" The authors believes,on the one hand,the description of the characteristics of "Nous" by Aristotle largely inherits the description of "Nous" by Anaxagoras,such as "unmixed",eternal,mover,etc.on the other hand,Aristotle deepens the concept of "Nous" on two levels.First,Aristotle takes "Nous" as the unmoved mover of the universe,second,he makes "Nous" as the cognitive ability fo human being.In these two aspects,Aristotle further clearly distinguished and deepened Anaxagoras’ concept of "Nous",that is,on the one hand,he accounts "Nous" at the human level,as cognitive ability of human being,and explained "how can ‘Nous’ know everything;on the other hand,he also account "Nous" on the level of cosmology,and regards" divine Nous "as the first mover of the universe.