In order to determine how Aristotle’s anthropic hylomorphism relates to his logical hylomorphism, it is first necessary to understand the status of “animal” and its various associations in his thought. Primarily, it is important to understand the category animal is capable of encompassing all those creatures who are deemed to possess a “soul,” that is everything that is alive, or can be understood according to four modes of causation.

These modes of causation relate to the how an object in the world is thought to be determined and are understood as material, i.e. the form and matter out which it is made, the formal cause, i.e. the shape that this matter takes, the efficient cause, i.e. the agent responsible for making it take this shape, and the final cause, i.e. the purpose of the object.This mode of reasoning then leads to thinking of final cause, and equally to a thinking of the unique qualities of the human animal. Aristotle concludes that, alongside the standard purpose of self-generation, it is possible for humans to engage in what he terms “rational” thought. This a thinking that provides a capacity for political action via the formation and the carrying out of projects in the world. Aristotle understands the condition of possibility for thinking in a manner which mirrors his previous understanding of modes of causality.

In essence, a thing or an object can only be thought it its form is capable of presenting itself to the form of the individual who is thinking it. In this process, the form of the object being thought is described as impressing itself the conciseness of the thinking individual forming an isomorphic relation with it. As such, the logical possibility of thinking is directly related to the phenomenology of causality developed in relation to animal life. It is due to its ability to form isomorphic forms and projects that a human being can be described as a rational, thinking and inherently political animal.