Aristotelian Joyce

Aristotle exerted profound influence on James Joyce, providing him with material for his work as well as guidelines for artistic creation. Joyce became familiar with Aristotle through lectures on literature at University College in Dublin and later in Paris studied Aristotle’s most important works. Through his Catholic upbringing Joyce absorbed many elements of Aristotle’s philosophy used to formulate Christian doctrines. Aristotle equipped Joyce with fundamental principles regarding reality, knowledge, and the soul. Without his study of Aristotle’s Metaphysics and On the Soul, he could not have created the intellectual character of Stephen. The Aristotelian concepts of act and potency, form and entelechy, are indispensable for Stephen’s reading of the world and his sense of selfhood.