1. Plato + Aristotle: The four causes

Question 1

what are the four causes?

Answer 1

MATERIAL, FORMAL, EFFICIENT AND FINAL CAUSE.

Question 2

what are the four causes for?

Answer 2

why something exists and why it is unique

Question 3

material cause

Answer 3

The substance that something is composed of -desk, nails, wood, glue etc . (however these characteristics do not, alone, provide an explanation of the desk itself)

Question 4

Formal Cause

Answer 4

Shape or structure that the matter takes- this allows it to be identified for what it is as a whole - e.g a desk is desk shaped

Question 5

Efficient Cause

Answer 5

• is whatever created it - the activity required to make it come about. E.g the carpenter of the desk. Aristotle expressed the efficient cause in terms of actualising of potential. Wood has the potential to be made into furniture, but it needs the efficient cause of the carpenter to realise this potential.

Question 6

Final Cause

Answer 6

the reason or purpose for which is was created, its ‘telos’ or end. E.g desk can be used as a means for writing. (The final cause was of great use to Aristotelian ethical theory)

Aristotle used his concept of Final cause when he discussed the nature of goodness and morality. He thought something was ‘good’ when it fulfilled its ‘telos’. A good axe is an axe that cuts well.

Question 7

proof that - He thought something was ‘good’ when it fulfilled its ‘telos’… what does this mean

Answer 7

“The good of man is the active exercise of his soul’s faculties in conformity with excellence or virtue”

Aristotle suggests that the “good” for human beings is not simply a matter of fulfilling our desires or pursuing pleasure, but rather it involves fulfilling our telos or purpose as rational beings. This telos is connected to the idea of excellence or virtue, and it implies that there is a certain way that we ought to live in order to fulfil our potential as human beings.

Question 8

what is the most important cause

Answer 8

Aristotle believed that all four causes were necessary to fully understand an object or phenomenon in the world.
BUT
He argued that the final cause was the most important, as it provided the ultimate explanation for why something exists or was created.

Question 9

What is the final cause for humans

Answer 9

For Aristotle, the goal of human life was to achieve eudaimonia, or “flourishing,” by fulfilling one’s potential and living a virtuous life.