ABSTRACT
In her paper “Physicalism in Strato’s Psychology,”1 Deborah Modrak argues persuasively that in matters of psychology Strato was no dualist. Rather, he was a thoroughgoing physicalist, who held that the intellect and the senses constitute a single capacity that is located in the head between the eyebrows. That is a significant departure from Aristotle, who makes the heart the center of psychic activity and draws a clear distinction between the intellect and the senses. The former is not embodied, but the latter are. Moreover, Aristotle withholds intellect from animals: they are characterized by sense perception and nutritive capacity. Human beings with their ability to think are placed atop the scala naturae; animals are below, being superior to plants. In contrast, Strato is reported to have assigned intellect to all animals. That is of considerable interest, for animal behavior was frequently discussed in the early Peripatos, and on occasion this discussion appears to question the neat divisions of the scala naturae. In this regard, Books 8 and 9 of the Aristotelian History of Animals are often cited.
