One of the most important aspects of his philosophy was the development from potentiality to actuality; this provided a basis for the discussion of the beginning and existence of all things, including the universe. This development of potentiality to actuality is the progression from the idea of something to the idea becoming a reality. In conclusion the matter of a house is its potential and the form is its actuality. Aristotle used his theory of the four causes to explain the movement of potentiality to actuality; the four causes are the material cause, the efficient cause, the formal cause and the final cause.
The material cause is the thing or things which an object is made out of. This answers the question what does something consist of. For example when thinking of a statue it is made out of stone, therefore the stone is the material cause. The efficient cause is the way in which an object is created, for example an essay may be created using a pen or pencil. The formal cause is the expression, idea or plan that led to the creation of an object, for example a person may create an essay from the title or plan. The final cause is the aim for which an object is created, for example a waterproof jacket is designed and made in order to keep people who wear it dry.
These four causes work together to form the potential and the actual object, the best example to use is a house. The material cause of the house is the bricks, the mortar, the wood and the glass; these are the things that cause the structure to eventually exist. The efficient cause of the house is the process of building it, digging and lying of the foundations, completing the brickwork, the roofing and so on. The formal cause of the house is the architect’s plan, and the possibly the artist’s impression, it is the design to which the house is finally made. The final cause of the house is the desire to create a dwelling for people to live in.
However Aristotle did agree with Plato on the suggestion that everything in nature flows. This idea is that everything flows means that everything changes and therefore is mortal, i.e. things pass away and therefore all things are subject to the four causes. Aristotle said in Metaphysics
...all change is from what is potential to what is actually. From being potentially white, say to actually white. This is the reason why not only is there a coming-to-be from what-is-not accidentally, but every case of coming to be is also from what is. It is from what is potentially but not actuality.
For Aristotle the final cause was the most important as it contributes the most to explaining the existence of an item, including the universe itself. The final cause is teleological, this means that it is concerned with ultimate end or function, since this what gives an item its ultimate goodness. Aristotle believed that everything had a final cause even if it is not apparent to us straight away. The final cause is seen as the most significant as it explains not only the cause of something but its purpose as well.
Aristotle used this idea of the four causes and applied it to the universe. In considering the existence of the universe itself, Aristotle believed that his causation theory could be applied as the universe itself must also have a purpose and reason for its existence. Aristotle believed that for everything to existence as we see it today, or the way he saw it in the past, there must be a first cause. A prime mover unmoved which is the final cause of the universe itself and explains or the reason for it being. So not only s the prime mover the first cause which started of the ‘chain reaction’ of the existence of the universe but it is also reason for its existence. The prime mover existed necessarily, perfectly good and eternal. All other things contingent but the prime mover depends on nothing else for its existence. This idea is important has it has led to the cosmological argument for the existence of god which argues that god is the first cause of the universe and the Natural law theory of ethics, which tries to define good in terms of the final cause or purpose of a thing.
Aristotle went on to categorise different substances, many of which are brought about or changed by the four causes. He believed that there were three types of substance. He believed that there are substances which are evident but will decay or die, an example of this is a plant or animal. The second category sis that there are substances which are evident but will not decay or die, though today we know the world will die, Aristotle believed that the world would not die, as believed at the time he was writing. The final category is substances which are immune from any change for example a number two will always be number.
In conclusion Aristotle believed that all things were caused to be and that some things, mainly the categories of one and two, were then caused to change from potentiality to actuality by the four causes. This idea about the causes and explanations are important because he manages to show that there can be several different reasons for something, all operating at the same time and often depending on each other as well. Aristotle idea for the four causes has been used in many theories today, including being a basis for the cosmological argument, but his ideas are also used in science today, practically physics.
