Aristotle Flashcards
How does Aristotle claim to know truth?
Through the senses and experience
Who was Aristotle’s teacher?
Plato
What is Aristotle’s theory called?
The Four Causes
Name the Four Causes
Material, efficient, formal and final
What does telos mean?
End, result or purpose
Which is the most important cause for Aristotle?
Final Cause
What can be said about an object if it fulfils its final cause?
It is good - e.g. a pen is a good pen if it writes well; even if the words written do not make sense.
What does Aristotle observe about things in the world?
There is motus, things are always changing.
How does Aristotle describe the changes he observes in the world?
Things change from actuality to potentiality
What is Aristotle’s explanation for all the things changing in the world?
The Prime Mover - drawing everything towards it
List key ideas about the Prime Mover
Unchanging, eternal, pure actuality, pure good, no potentiality, thinks about itself/thinking
Give two examples to show how the Prime Mover causes change/movement
Like a magnet attracts iron filings, like a saucer of milk attracts a cat. Neither the magnet or milk do anything.
Does the Prime Mover know who you are?
No - because it can only think about itself
Would there be any point in praying to the Prime Mover for help?
No - because it cannot DO anything, it only thinks about itself
What does motus mean?
Change (and movement)
List 7 key ideas about the Prime Mover
Unchanging, eternal, necessary, pure actuality, pure good, no potentiality, thinks about itself/thinking
List 5 ways the Prime Mover is different to the Judeao-Christian idea of God
not immanent or involved in the world; not omnipotent; not a creator; pure actuality; not omniscient
List 5 ways the Prime Mover and the Judeao-Christain idea of God are similar
necessary; perfect; unchanging; all good; eternal
How was the idea of purpose criticised by Russell?
Not everything has a purpose, some things are “brute fact” and have no explanation
How can the idea of purpose be criticised as a mental process?
Purpose is given by the mental process of humans e.g. I decide the wall I build will be part of a place of worship or a barn in which to store hay.
Give an example of something that doesn’t have a purpose
A wasp or the appendix
