Compare Aristotle's idea of the Prime Mover to the Judaeo Christian idea of God (33 marks)
Compare Aristotle's idea of the Prime Mover to the Judaeo Christian idea of God (33 marks)
The traditional theist Judaeo Christian belief of God is in many ways very similar to Aristotle's ideas and explanations of the Prime Mover. However, although very similar in many situations, the beliefs about God and the Prime Mover can also be very different and varied. Yet, both ideologies of theists God and Aristotle's Prime Mover follow the same foundations - they are both eternal and responsible for change in the world.
In Aristotle's view, the Prime Mover is the common source of all substance; it is the cause or purpose of change, but it itself remains unchanged. Aristotle's argument was that, because everything physical was subject to change, there must be an immaterial, immutable mover, causing movement without being changed itself during the process. This is the Prime Mover. In a similar was, Judaeo Christians believe that God is invariable and eternal. These traditional theists think God is the creator of the world, and creates ex-nihilo, but is unaffected by these creations. He is purely a sustainer of the world and all things. By stating this, Judaeo Christians are saying that it is logically impossible for the creatures to be or become the creator - God. They believe that God is transcendent, and is completely distinct from all people and creatures in everyway.
Resembling this idea is Aristotle's belief that the Prime Mover is totally set apart from creatures or any substance with physical matter subject to change. This is because, although the Prime Mover is the purpose and cause of all processes of change; like God in theist beliefs, the Prime Mover is actually completely unaffected and set apart from any physical being. This, although symbolic as a parallel between a Judaeo Christian thinking and the teachings of Aristotle, is also a significant difference between the two ideologies. This is suggested as, in genesis 2-3, personification is used to humanise ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
Resembling this idea is Aristotle's belief that the Prime Mover is totally set apart from creatures or any substance with physical matter subject to change. This is because, although the Prime Mover is the purpose and cause of all processes of change; like God in theist beliefs, the Prime Mover is actually completely unaffected and set apart from any physical being. This, although symbolic as a parallel between a Judaeo Christian thinking and the teachings of Aristotle, is also a significant difference between the two ideologies. This is suggested as, in genesis 2-3, personification is used to humanise God, and the biblical God responds to the behaviour of people - Adam and Eve. God shows anger, compassion and other relevant emotions accordingly, displaying that his emotions are subject to change. This is very much unlike the Prime Mover of Aristotle's beliefs, as the Prime Mover, according to Aristotle, is unaffected by people's behaviour so does not respond. Unlike God, the Prime Mover remains unchanged as it is unmoved by anything with the potential to change, including people.
Judaeo Christians accept that God is the designer and builder of the earth. Similarly to this, Aristotle exclaims that the Prime Mover is the necessary first source of movement that is the beginning of everything. It is the Prime Mover that is responsible for all change, like God, and this includes the creation of the world. However, according to genesis, God becomes a craftsman whilst creating the humanity and the planet. In genesis 1, it states that God creates ex-nihilo by command, and in genesis 2-3, it says that he creates things more physically. For example, in genesis 2-3, he creates Adam from the soil. In comparison to this, the Prime Mover is immaterial and unable to create things physically because it has no matter and cannot perform bodily actions. Thus, in contrast to God's creation activity of commands and physical actions, the activity of the Prime Mover is thought.
Nevertheless, genesis is quite contradictory because in genesis 1, God is described as a power rather than the father figure he appears to be in genesis 2-3. God appears to be a non-physical force that pre-existed creation, alike the Prime Mover. The Prime Mover is the final cause and the purpose of every change in the universe, and, parallel to the concept of God as the creator, it can be seen as responsible for everything that has happened in the universe. The creation of the world symbolises the goodness of God as the world is not necessary to him, and he does not need it to survive. The goodness of God is considered to be perfect and the very best possible. Everything wants to imitate God's perfection, and, therefore, everything is drawn to him. Corresponding to this idea, the Prime Unmoved Mover is immune to the process of change itself, and so must be a supreme object of desire as anything eternal or immutable appears perfect. Like God, the Prime Mover is the best thing that there could possible be, with the very best life and characteristics. Despite this, the Prime Mover still varies to Judaeo Christian beliefs of God as Aristotle believes that both the Prime Mover and the world exist not only eternally, but necessarily too. Yet, Judaeo Christian teaching says that although God is necessary, the world and all of it's inhabitants are not as God pre-existed the world and is not dependant on anything else for his existence.
Even though Aristotle's and Judaeo Christian beliefs vary about the necessity of the world, the idea that God is eternal is equal to Aristotle's teachings of the eternal Prime Mover. Because the Prime Mover is eternal, like God, it must be very good as there can be no defects in anything that exists eternally and necessarily. God is eternal so he is said to be complete perfection. He is also said to be omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. This suggests that he is not limited by space or time. Similarly, the Prime Mover is not limited by space or time either, as it is immaterial and unaltered by things with the potential to change. Like God's total knowledge, the Prime Mover knows itself, and therefore knows all things, as the Prime Mover is The Final Cause, and nothing pre-existed it.
