Aristotle Flashcards
What is Aristotle’s view on the existence of separate realms?
Unlike Plato, Aristotle did not believe that there are two separate realms. He believed the world we live in is the only place in which we can have true knowledge, because it is through our senses, experiences, and observations that we come to understand things.
What are the four causes according to Aristotle?
Everything in the physical world has four causes: material cause (what it’s made of), formal cause (shape or characteristics), efficient cause (how it came to be), and final cause (its purpose).
What is an example of the four causes using a table?
A table has a formal cause (four legs and a horizontal surface), a material cause (made of wood and nails), an efficient cause (made by a carpenter), and a final cause (to lean on while writing or to eat off).
What does Aristotle mean by ‘telos’?
The ‘telos’ or end purpose is part of the object itself; it is intrinsic and represents the reason it exists.
How does Aristotle define something as ‘Good’?
Something is ‘Good’ if it fulfills its end purpose.
E.g. A good knife cuts well, even if it cuts my finger!
What is the relationship between actual and potential states in Aristotle’s philosophy?
Everything in the physical world is in an ‘actual’ state but has ‘potential’ to become something else. An acorn is potentially an oak tree; an embryo is potentially a mature human being.
What does Aristotle say about change in the physical world?
Everything in the physical world is constantly changing (in a state of flux).
What is the Prime Mover in Aristotle’s philosophy?
The Prime Mover is the cause of all movement and change, remaining unmoved itself; it is immutable and the final cause of all motus.
How does the Prime Mover cause movement?
The Prime Mover draws movement by attraction, rather than pushing by a conscious act.
What is the nature of the Prime Mover according to Aristotle?
The Prime Mover is spiritual, pure actuality, absolute goodness, indivisible, and cannot know of the existence of the physical world.
What is Aristotle’s view on the universe?
Aristotle understood the universe to be eternal; it had no beginning or efficient cause.
What are some criticisms of Aristotle’s philosophy?
Critics argue that Aristotle has no proof that his a posteriori method is the only true one, that everything may not have a purpose, and that the Four Causes cannot be applied to everything.
How does Bertrand Russell view the universe?
Bertrand Russell called the Universe a ‘brute fact’.
What is the fallacy of composition in Aristotle’s philosophy?
The fallacy of composition suggests that even if parts have a purpose, the whole may not.
How do the Prime Mover and Plato’s Form of the Good compare?
Similarities include being transcendent and perfect, while differences include the Prime Mover being part of the eternal universe and the Form of the Good existing in the Real or Ideal World.
