Final answer:
Aristotle's view of the soul is a functional one; he does not see the soul as a separate incorporeal substance but as the act or principle of life that animates living bodies, allowing growth, perception, voluntary motion, and in humans, reason.
Step-by-step explanation:
The concept of the soul is complex and has been approached in various ways by philosophers and theologians. According to Aristotle's philosophical view, the soul is not an incorporeal substance, as some might think, but rather the first principle of life in a living being. He categorized the soul based on its functions. Plants possess a vegetative soul for growth and nutrient exchange, animals have an additional animal soul for perception and voluntary motion, and humans have all these plus the capability for rational thought. Therefore, while the soul can be tied to the body's activities, it is essentially the act of the body, the animate principle, distinct from the body itself.
Aristotle clearly distinguishes the soul from any corporeal entity, as being corporeal, or body-like, does not inherently entail life. The body is only a living entity when animated by the soul, which serves as its driving force or act. This view refutes the philosophies that consider the soul as a body or material substance. Aristotle's nuanced understanding of the soul as the enabler of a body's life functions, particularly for humans, their capacity for reason, is a fundamental concept in classical philosophy.