Aristotle Flashcards
The nature of Causation
What are the 4 causes which Plato felt were sufficient for explaining something’s ontology?
Believed that the cause of something precedes it and also proposes its function or purpose.
The 4 causes are formal, material, efficient and final cause. The formal cause is the kind of thing something is, metaphysical yet not a form as Plato describes it as it is A Posteriori. The material cause is the matter from which something is made and the efficient cause is the agent that brings something about. The final cause is the end goal or purpose for which something is the way that it is and the direction to which it is moving.
What is an analogy to explain the formal cause?
Like The Biblical David, carved by Michelangelo as it was carved out with no use of a model or description but just from the sculptors idea of him in his head.
Criticism of Aristotle’s ontology
It makes it very difficult to find the ontology of abstract concepts. Aristotle responds saying that there are only material things.
This idea means that the ontology of something changes with its final cause and so isn’t fixed, yet there can be some ambiguity of something’s final cause as could have multiple purposes at one moment.
What is Ontology and Teleology
- The philosophical study of being
- Teleology, from telos ‘end’, is a reason or explanation for something as a function of its end, purpose, or goal and so Aristotle introduces this with the final cause showing his view that natural beings have an intrinsic purpose and a human’s intrinsic telos is discoverable through reason. For instance, Aristotle claimed that an acorn’s intrinsic telos is to become a fully grown oak tree. An extrinsic teleology is one that is imposed on someone or something.
What is Substance theory
The belief that substances are the ultimate things in the universe. The universe at its most basic foundation is not made up of elementary particles but substances. This is completely different from our modern view of the world. Aristotle defends this position in his books Categories and Metaphysics.
What did Aristotle believe substance was made up of?
Substance = matter + form, only at a particular point in time (synchronically). Matter is present in all physical objects and, unlike form, allows substances to change and allows for plurality (multiple/diversity) amongst things in the world. Form by definition unchanging and distinguishes one thing from another. Different to Plato’s forms as ‘A Posteriori’ so do not exist independently of things and every form is the form of some thing, much less fixed version. This is because Aristotle believed you can have true knowledge of the world of the senses
What is Actuality and Potentiality
Potentiality = substance applied across time (diachronically) e.g. if someone with eyes closed asked question of whether they could see, in actuality answer is no and in potentiality answer is yes as their eyes have the capacity to be able to see. While there is matter, always potentiality as matter can always be changed into a different form and it is the final cause of something that drives its potentiality. Aristotle gave actuality priority over potentiality as potentiality can’t exist by itself and believed that achieving pure actuality is the ultimate goal of every object or being.
All humans are dualistic so contain both actuality and potentiality so can never fully achieve ultimate goal as constrained by matter but we can approach it to the degree that the species remains forever the same.
Pure Actuality
Humans constrained with matter as will always have potentiality so can never achieve pure form.
God/unmoved mover is pure actuality as not constrained by matter.
How does Aristotle avoid infinite regress
Primary mover necessary for Aristotle as everything in the world is constantly changing, transient, and all change and movement requires a cause (efficient cause). Leads to infinite regress as chain must begin somewhere and Aristotle sees change as eternal so needs to be a Primary mover which moves all things without itself being moved. Primary mover not an efficient cause but a final cause meaning it is the purpose or teleology of somethings movement as the object of love or desire. Primary mover cause of all potentiality but doesn’t have potentiality in itself as eternal and immaterial so in a constant state of rest. Primary mover’s activity must be pure thought and since it is perfect it must only thing of the purest thing which is itself, so therefore is a thought of itself.
What is Eudaimonia?
can be translated as ‘flourishing’ or happiness and is what Aristotle believed to be the telos or end goal of all human life. Our lives consist of relative or short-term goals which are less important and lead to final end goal.
Aristotle on the body and soul
Aristotle was a Monist so believed that the body and soul are interlinked rather than existing in separate realms. Stated that the soul is mortal and dies with the physical body as it is a substance in the same way as the body is. Interprets the body as a living things matter and the soul as its form. Stated that the soul is the sum total of a thing, inc. its function and purpose, and distinguishes humans from other living things as our souls have ability to reason making us intellectual and ethical beings.
Analogy used by Aristotle to explain his theory on virtue and human telos.
Analogy of the Archer. Believed that all humans should aspire to be virtuous to achieve Eudaimonia so if we focus on being good people the right actions we should take will effortlessly follow. Saw virtue as the golden mean between the extremes of excess and deficiency of a characteristic. Example of courage as the perfect midpoint between cowardice, lack of courage, and recklessness, excess courage. Described virtue as ‘Practical Wisdom’ so is a skill or way of living that can be learned through experience. The archer symbolises how if person has sight of telos or end goal much more likely to achieve or hit it than if they aim randomly without a target.
What are the Eye and the Axe?
Illustrations used by Aristotle to make his point clearer about the nature of the soul. States that all things have a purpose and it is this purpose that determines whether it is good or bad. The teleology of object determines its ontology. If the axe loses ability to chop then ceases to be an axe even though still made up of wood and metal which is the same matter as an axe. Says that “when seeing is removed the eye is no longer an eye, except in name” For humans, eyes capacity to see or axe’s capacity to chop same as our ability to reason.
What is Entelechy
Aristotle described the soul as ‘the entelechy of a natural body having life potentially within it’. Is a fully realised being that exists within something formally and guides the actualization (achievement) of its potential toward full being. For humans we must constantly reason in order to achieve Eudaimonia as this is what separates our soul from other living things and what makes man man, giving us the potential to live a better life in our capacity to guide ourselves by using reason. If use reason well and consistently (not just once) we will live well as humans.
What is the hierarchy of the souls
rational (human)
sensitive (animal)
vegetative (plant)
