Aristotle - Forms of Cause and Causality

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Michael Bodansky 12HS

Describe Aristotle’s teachings about the difference between the Final cause and orther sorts of cause

Aristotle argued that we gain knowledge of universal truth by observing particular things and reasoning from our experience of them to a general (universal) truth. For example, pure water boils at 100oC. Here the emphasis is on experience – Aristotle was keen on gaining understanding from scientific, empirical evidence.

For Aristotle to understand something, there were four key questions to answer – The Four Causes (or explanations) :

  1. What is its efficient cause ? (i.e. what made the object/thing)
  2. What is its formal cause ? (i.e. the form a thing has i.e. its dimensions)
  3. What is its material cause ? (i.e. What it’s made of i.e. substance)
  4. What is its final cause ? ( i.e. What is it for ?! …This is also known as Telos, which is the Greek word for purpose.)

Aristotle believed that the universe is eternal and exists in a constant state of change, so motion is eternal. He thought that the planets were a prime example of perfect motion ; they were perfect spheres rotating in perfect sequence. He then argued that there must be a cause of change in all the universe, and this cause must be :

  1. Eternal, and
  2. A necessary being.

Therefore it could not fail to exist ! The cause is eternal because the change in the universe is eternal, and it is a necessary being because it is the cause of all change in the universe, but it is not changed by anything else. Or, as Aristotle put it,

‘There is something which moves without being moved, being eternal substance and actuality’.

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The ‘something’ is G-d. By ‘eternal’ he means that G-d has always existed, by ‘substance’ he means substance without form ; it is invisible, it does not have parts or a body. By ‘actuality’ he refers to pure actuality – the best there is. All change is from potential to actual, but G-d does not change because he is already pure actually.

        The cause of all the change in the universe is the unmoved mover, but the unmoved mover is not the efficient cause of the change (as this suggests the unmoved mover does something !) The unmoved mover is the cause ...

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