Aristotle Flashcards
What is a material cause?
The matter or substance that something is made of.
E.g a book is made of paper
*Materials always have the potential for change and represent the impermanence of the world.
What is a formal cause?
The cause of what gives a matter its form or structure.
E.g a table is not just random pieces of wood, but wood cut and arranged in a certain way.
*We can recognize a table because it has 4 legs, a flat surface and belongs to a group we know as ‘furniture’- we are mentally fitting an object into a category that we already know.
What is an efficient cause?
The cause of an object existing
E.g a table exists because someone made it, a book exists because someone chose to write it,
*Does not necessarily have to be a person (e.g wind is the efficient cause of a tree falling over), an object may have more than 1 efficient cause (e.g the efficient cause of a cake is not just the baker, but the mixing and baking processors to).
What is a final cause?
The reason why something is the way it is - the function of anything or object.
- Teleological - it to do with the function of an object or the reason an action is done.
- Examines the purpose of an object - why it exists at all.
What is the prime/unmoved mover?
Aristotle reasoned that something must exist which causes the movement and change within the universe (the physical world is in a constant state of motion and change) and that is eternal. He called this being the prime or unmoved mover.
What is the nature of the prime mover?
- outside universe , time and space; it knows nothing about it, has no plan, and never intervenes in it
- eternal(must necessarily be good), does not exist in a bodily form
- cannot move but things are attracted to it: humans move towards the prime mover like moths to a flame because it is all we can do
- Is perfection; cannot think about anything but itself as this would make the prime movers thoughts imperfect (it’s knowledge would be constantly changing just like the universe)
- Starts of movement through attraction
- redundant: everything in the universe depends on the unmoved mover but it had no interest in the universe.
What is the link between Final Cause and the Prime Mover?
The prime mover as a final cause does not start of movement with some kind of push, but is the end or ‘telos’ of the movement.
It is desire and attraction which causes movement in other things; like a cat to a saucer of milk, the milk is static and unchanging but causes movement in the cat.
When there is a chain of events there must be an ultimate cause - the prime mover is the final cause.
What is Aristotle’s use of teleology?
Aristotle developed his thinking into explaining the final cause and purpose of living things.
It is not obvious what the final cause of a living thing is like it is for a non-living thing (e.g a bridges purpose can be seen through the senses).
Objects in nature seem to be driven towards a goal to obtain a certain form proper to them, and there actions are all directed towards this. - Aristotle referred to this as ‘telos’.
How does Aristotle differ to Plato?
Aristotle approached topics of study in a very different way to Plato.
Aristotle = Emphasized the physical world and experience as the basis of knowledge, the value of studying the physical world and has an empirical approach.
Plato = Emphasized the world of ideas and reason as the source of knowledge.
*Aristotle rejected Plato’s theory mainly because the relationship between forms and objects in the material world was not explained.
What are the weaknesses of Aristotle?
- Can we rely on our senses?
- There is no clear evidence that our senses are always reliable
- Plato and Descartes argue that senses are unreliable and can deceive us - e.g in a dream we think it is real by our senses but then we wake up.
- Rationalists would argue for ‘a priori’ approach to knowledge.
- Evidence on and unmoved/prime mover
- There is no clear evidence that everything does have a final cause, and no empirical evidence to prove the existence of a prime mover
- If everything has a cause what is the cause of a prime mover?
- Logical Contradiction: claiming that the unmoved mover does exactly what he claims as impossible e.g everything is caused by something else, the prime mover does not have a cause
- Does everything have a ‘telos’?
- some things appear to have no final cause or obvious purpose
- Brute Fact
- Russel & David Hume would argue that the universe is just brute fact and just there and that is it
- Aristotle’s view of the universe and matter as eternal is outdated
- modern physics proves the universe had a defined beginning (the big bang theory) rather than existing in an eternal and continuous state
What arguments suggest Aristotle is not effective?
- Weaknesses of his theory
- Aristotle’s view of the eternity of the world might be criticized either from theological or a scientific stand point; the worlds as initiated by god’s creation, or using scientific views which identify the universe as finite (e.g beginning with the big bang)
- Aristotle’s assertion of natural things possessing a final cause were criticized - argument might be supported by the evolutionary theory.
What arguments suggest Aristotle’s theory is effective?
- Aristotle’s empirical approach is based on observation of the real world. This seems stronger than Plato who did not rely on sense experience.
- Understanding of the prime mover as final cause of nature might be used to provide some kind of argument in favour of theism as an explanation of the world.
- Offers some form of meaning and purpose to our lives. We are constantly moving towards our telos/goal.
