The Four Causes Flashcards
What are the Four Causes?
The Four Causes are the 4 ways in which Aristotle believed we could understand the world and everything within it.
It consists of: Material, Formal, Efficient and Final.
What is the Material Cause?
The Material Cause is what something is made up of.
What is the Formal Cause?
The Formal Cause is the ‘form’ of something (it’s properties).
What is the Efficient Cause?
The Efficient Cause is the agent that causes something to change form (actualise it’s potential).
What is the Final Cause?
The Final Cause is the aim (telos) of something.
How is Aristotle’s Four Causes still the scientific method?
Aristotle’s systematic approach to studying the natural world, especially the material and formal causes, laid the foundation for the modern scientific method.
How can Empirical knowledge be shared?
Thanks to it’s concrete and observable nature, empirical knowledge is verifiable and can be tested. As it is obtained through practical experience we can use empirical knowledge practically in our world unlike rational knowledge.
What is Ockham’s Razor?
Ockham’s Razor suggests that the simplest explanations are the best ones, as they avoid over complications.
What is the Problem of Induction?
David Hume says the inductive method lacks a logical basis to assume that future events will resemble past events, making it virtually illogical.
What is the Problem of Causation?
Hume argued that our knowledge of causation comes from past experiences of regularities rather than rational necessity, making it uncertain whether cause and effect are related.
What is the problem with the Material Cause and abstract things?
The material cause refers to the physical matter from which something is made, making it incompatible with abstract entities, as they do not have a tangible substance.
Cause and Effect
Cause and effect is a huge part of Aristotle’s argument, it builds the premise of the efficient cause and its role as the agent of actualisation.
