Aristotle on feelings of bodily changes.

For Aristotle, cognition is embodied. His psychology is based on the assumption that the affective aspects of embodiment, ranging from emotions and moods to bodily states such as thirst and hunger, play a meaning-generating role. This chapter enquires into how he thinks feelings of bodily changes enter and inform cognitive processes. Section 1 draws mainly on Aristotle’s zoological works and illustrates the influence that the material make-up of an animal’s body has on its affective responses. Section 2 turns to his theory of animal movement and examines the importance of thermal alterations, with their corresponding pleasant and painful sensations, in exciting desire. Section 3 discusses the homeostatic role of perceived affects and the relational nature of the connection that Aristotle envisages between what an animal perceives as pleasant and what is conducive to its preservation and flourishing. As a biologist, Aristotle believes strongly in continuity . Therefore he believes that the basic psychological mechanisms of sentience, motivation, and movement to which this chapter refers are shared by all animals, including humans.