Aristotle Flashcards
What did Aristotle believe about this world?
He believed that knowledge is gained through the senses. This is the only world we can be sure of, so we must study it.
What was Aristotle interested in?
Interested in why things are unique and why they exist i.e. what caused them.
What does Aetion mean?
Term used by Aristotle to mean cause/explanation/origin.
What did he believe could explain the uniqueness and cause of things?
The four causes
What are the four causes
Material, Formal, efficient cause, final cause.
What is the material cause?
What is it made from e.g. chair - wood.
What is the Formal cause?
Its characteristics - how it can be identified e.g. chair has four legs, seat, back.
What is the Efficient cause?
How something has come about e.g. carpenter is the efiicient cause of a chair.
What is the final cause?
Purpose/reason for existing. This is its Telos (end). Chair is for sitting on.
What made everything different for Aristotle?
Everything had its own unique substance.
What is substance made from?
It is made of matter and form. Within substance is potentiality and actuality.
Why did Aristotle believe that there had to be a Prime Mover?
He wanted to know - what was the efficient and final cause of the universe. Believed chaotic matter had always existed. But why does this matter change towards a purpose? Why does it change at all? There had to be something triggering the change which was not changed itself.
Why can’t the Prime Mover change?
Otherwise it would be part of the chain of change and could not be triggering it.
What is the Prime Mover?
The very first substance which causes movement and change in all other things.
How does the Prime Mover cause change?
It attracts things to it and causes movement and change. It actualises potential. In this way, it is the final cause of the universe.
What example does Gerrard Hughes give for the Prime Mover?
In the way that a cat moves towards the milk, The Prime Mover is like the milk.
If the Prime Mover can’t change, what else must it be?
It must be out of time as things in time change. It must not be dependent on anything else to exist - otherwise it could change. It is eternal - can’t change so cannot cease. It must be fully good - otherwise it could change. Must have no potential - otherwise it could change. It is fully actual.
How does Plato and Descartes criticise Aristotle?
Assumes we can only gain knowledge through senses - could be wrong - not all knowledge is scientific - some is spiritual.
How would Satre and Russell criticise Aristotle?
Universe may not have a telos e.g. it is just brute fact.
How did Hume criticise Aristotle?
Cause and effect could be eternal and not require a prime mover - could just have started by chance.
How would Theists respond to Aristotle?
Their experience of God is that God is personal - unlike the Prime Mover.
What are the strengths of the Prime Mover?
Prime Mover is logical. Provides an explanation for cause and purpose. Full explanation for why things are unique.
What makes reason stronger than observation?
Truths arrived at through reason seem to be unchanging e.g. maths. Truth through observation will change. Our senses can mislead us making empiricism inferior.
What makes observation stronger than reason?
Certain knowledge can only be obtained throuhg senses e.g. it is raining outside. We cannot separate our thinking from our sense experience - this usually comes first before reason e.g. we learn maths visually first. But Plato would argue the concept comes first innately, we are not born a clean slate - Chomsky’s universal grammar.
