Aristotle Flashcards
Give an example of:
Matter + Form = Substance
Wood + A flat surface and 4 legs =
A wooden table!
Was Aristotle an empiricist or a rationalist? Explain why.
An empiricist. He believed that we gain knowledge through experience of the physical world.
How do Aristotle and Plato differ in their view of the forms?
Plato believed that the forms were the perfect archetypes of things existing in the noeton, whereas Aristotle believed that they were simply the characteristics of a thing, contained within the object.
For instance, Plato believed that even before the mobile phone was invented, the form of a perfect mobile phone existed in the noeton. Similarly, when the dodo became extinct, Plato believed that the perfect form of a dodo still existed in the noeton, whereas Aristotle believed that when the dodo became extinct, the form of the dodo also died with it.
What is matter?
“That which can be moved.”
Name and explain Aristotle’s 4 causes:
- The Material cause- Things from which an object is made from.
Eg: A cup is made from china - The Efficient cause- The activity that makes something happen.
Eg: A potter must have created the cup - The Formal Cause- The expression, idea or plan that has lead to the creation of an object.
Eg: An artist designs and sketches a cup. It must be waterproof, durable and able to hold liquids. - The Final Cause- The aim or purpose for which an object is created.
Eg: A cup is created to be drunk from.
Give a quote from Aristotle.
“Nature does not act without a goal.”
Explain the ideas of potentiality and actuality.
Aristotle used the ideas of potentiality and actuality to explain motion and change in the universe.
He observed that everything in the universe has a ‘telos’/purpose- and everything is constantly striving to fulfill it’s purpose.There are two states of being; things which have actualized their potential and things which have not.
For instance, an acorn has the potential to grow into an oak tree. Once it has become an oak tree, it has actualized it’s potential and therefore fulfilled it’s purpose.
How did Aristotle arrive at the conclusion that the universe had a ‘first cause’?
Aristotle first asked the question: “How did movement and change begin in the universe?”
He rejected the idea of infinite regress- so therefore he concluded that there must be a ‘first cause’ which began the chain of movement and change in the universe.
If we use the analogy of a chain of dominoes, a force is needed to start the chain of dominoes off. This cannot be another domino- it must be something outside the chain of dominoes, like a person. Thus the Prime Mover is the ‘first cause’ which began movement and change in the universe, whilst being transcendental and outside of space and time.
How is The Prime Mover different to The God of Classical Theism?
The Prime Mover is similar to a ‘god’, but is markedly different to The God of Classical Theism, as it is more of an impersonal, immaterial, ‘it’ that does not interact or intervene in the world, rather than an omnibenevolent, omnipotent deity.
Explain how the concept of perfection applies to The Prime Mover.
The Prime Mover is perfect and eternal. It is fixed and cannot change. If The Prime Mover had the potential to change, it would not be perfect, as the potential for change suggests ‘room for improvement’. As it is entirely perfect, it can only think about itself.
Explain the idea of The Prime Mover being like ‘a giant magnet’.
Some Aristotelian scholars have likened The Prime Mover to a giant magnet. Everything in the universe is slowly moving towards it, as they want to be perfect like The Prime Mover.
