Aristotle Flashcards
What are the four causes
All objects are composed of:
1) Material cause - e.g. bronze
2) Efficient cause - things which creates it - sculptor
3) Formal cause - what is is - idea of finished sculpture
4) Final cause - end for which the thing exists - idea of sculpture that prompted sculptor to make it
What is telos
The purpose of on object - final cause.
How is final cause achieved
The object being perfect internally to the object - we cannot impose it upon the object subjective - an acorn can never be a willow tree
Substance
Aristotle believed substance = matter + form
Causality
To say what an object is is to say what it is for / what form is it achieving. Matter is for the sake of form - bronze is not a statue, the form of the bronze is what makes it a substance
Explain potentiality and actuality
Potentiality - all matter has the potential to become something else (its actuality)
Actuality - the state which an object is trying to achieve. All objects are both in a state of actuality and potentiality - an acorn has the potential to become an oak, but it is the actualisation of the potential of a seed
Explain the Prime Mover
1) All motion is a result of potentiality becoming actuality
2) Universe is involved in moving, there must be something that compels it to move from one state to another
3) This Actuality can never be potential, and therefore is not material or in motion - therefore the Unmoved Mover or Prime Mover
Why is the Prime Mover self-absorbed
To become disturbed by potential states would ruin its perfection, it is therefore in a state of self-contemplation
What is the milk bowl analogy
The bowl of milk does nothing except exist, and it causes the cat to move towards it - this is what the Prime Mover does
Strengths
1) Empiricism - advocates knowledge is rooted in experience and observation - set way for physics, biology, chemistry etc.
2) Not reductionist - four causes
3) Purpose - highlights our sense of purpose we have about the world
