  To ascribe psychic functions to a specific part of the body implies a rejection of the difference between organic and inorganic life, which dichotomy was central to the Aristotelian, Platonic and Christian traditions. According to Telesio, there is a quantitative and not a qualitative difference here, which consists in the higher degree of complexity and the higher degree of warmth that some physical bodies possess. Whereas metals or stones are homogenous bodies, organic bodies consist of heterogeneous parts, including the bodily (though invisible) spirit in the nerves and brain (DRN book V, ch. II). And just as there is no metaphysical difference between living and non-living bodies, there also does not exist a qualitative difference between animals and humans—in both, it is the same spirit which coordinates the functions and operations of the different bodily parts. In DRN book V, ch. III Telesio states: