What Is the Mark of the Mental: Leonardo Polo's Retrieval of Aristotle's 'Energeia'

Abstract

Posing qualia as the mark of the mental presents problems for both reductionist and non-reductionist views of the mind. An alternative platform to understand the ontology of mental states is presented using Polo's retrieval of Aristotle's notion of energeia. My proposal is that mental states are characterized in terms of temporal integration, a feature of mental states by which they happen in time but they do not require duration in time. Other features like simultaneity, commensurability and non-failure are derived from this 'zero-time' that characterizes mental states. Some consequences that the 'zero-time' approach entails for a theory of the mind, especially for our understanding of the relationships between consciousness and intentionality and the structure of the mind are presented.