The Final Cause - Aristotle was a philosopher; he worked with Plato and considered him to be a genius. However Aristotle was independent and had his own theories. One of Aristotle's theories was that there are causes.

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The Final Cause

a. Aristotle was a philosopher; he worked with Plato and considered him to be a genius. However Aristotle was independent and had his own theories. One of Aristotle’s theories was that there are causes. The causes are Aristotle’s explanations as to why things exist. Plato said that all things of one species are similar because there is an ideal form, Aristotle disagreed with this and believed that the reason for why one species are similar is because they have the same causes, causes are like characteristics. In all there are 4 causes. The first cause is the material cause and is basically what it suggests, this answers the question what it is made of. For example a statue may be made of bronze, or a goblet could be made of silver. The second cause, the efficient cause describes the way in which the ‘thing’ or object got there (was made). In the case of a statue the efficient cause would be the chiselling, and the act of chiselling. The third cause, the formal cause, this is the characteristics that make the object fit into the category to which it belongs. The formal cause of the statue is simply that it is a statue. The finally there is the forth cause, this is the one I will concentrate on. Aristotle considered the final cause or Telos of a substance to be one of his most important believes. Aristotle believed that everything had to have an ultimate reason for existing not just a case of being matter. He said that the final cause was the best explanation of an object.

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Aristotle thought that when a being had achieved its final cause it has reached goodness. For example a chickens potential is to lay an egg, when it lays an egg it has reached achieved its reason for existence and therefore reached goodness. The chicken’s egg doesn’t have the potential to become an elephant’s egg because it doesn’t the same final cause as an elephant. The final cause of a house would be to provide shelter for human beings. This is part of the explanation of the house's existence because it would never have been built unless someone needed it as ...

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