Four Causes:
Aristotle maintains that there are four causes, material, formal, efficient and final, that are responsible for explaining how change occurs in the world. In order to explain how things change, Aristotle argues that all four of these causes must be applied to the change that occurs (56, 197b25). Therefore, Aristotle claims that these four causes explain how things come to be. The first cause, the material cause, is essentially what the thing is made out of, or the raw materials that constitute that thing (48, 194b25). To put this into context, Aristotle gives the example of bronze being the material for a bowl (48, 194b26). The raw material, or material cause, would be the bronze that the bowl is made of. Further, the material …show more content…
The formal cause explains why a thing is that said thing, instead of another thing. This cause explains why something is that thing instead of being multiple things (48, 194b27). The formal cause represents the pattern, or design of the form of the thing. Aristotle better explains this with an example of a statue. The bronze is not the statue, yet the way the bronze is molded into the statue creates the formal cause of the statue (48, 194b5). The statue takes form because of the way the bronze designs the statue. Bronze could hypothetically be used to create countless different items. Yet, the way bronze is molded into the shape of a statue is what gives the statue its …show more content…
An eraser for example, is an artifact that is changed by humans. The material cause of the eraser would be rubber. Rubber is the raw material that creates the eraser. The formal cause of the eraser is its design. Rubber creates an eraser because of the shape that it takes. Rubber could create various different objects, yet when rubber is shaped into the form of an eraser, it becomes an eraser. The efficient cause of the eraser is who, or what, created the eraser. In this case, it could either be the person or machine that created the eraser. The final cause of the eraser is its purpose. The purpose of an eraser is to delete mistakes caused by a
Aristotle maintains that there are four causes, material, formal, efficient and final, that are responsible for explaining how change occurs in the world. In order to explain how things change, Aristotle argues that all four of these causes must be applied to the change that occurs (56, 197b25). Therefore, Aristotle claims that these four causes explain how things come to be. The first cause, the material cause, is essentially what the thing is made out of, or the raw materials that constitute that thing (48, 194b25). To put this into context, Aristotle gives the example of bronze being the material for a bowl (48, 194b26). The raw material, or material cause, would be the bronze that the bowl is made of. Further, the material …show more content…
The formal cause explains why a thing is that said thing, instead of another thing. This cause explains why something is that thing instead of being multiple things (48, 194b27). The formal cause represents the pattern, or design of the form of the thing. Aristotle better explains this with an example of a statue. The bronze is not the statue, yet the way the bronze is molded into the statue creates the formal cause of the statue (48, 194b5). The statue takes form because of the way the bronze designs the statue. Bronze could hypothetically be used to create countless different items. Yet, the way bronze is molded into the shape of a statue is what gives the statue its …show more content…
An eraser for example, is an artifact that is changed by humans. The material cause of the eraser would be rubber. Rubber is the raw material that creates the eraser. The formal cause of the eraser is its design. Rubber creates an eraser because of the shape that it takes. Rubber could create various different objects, yet when rubber is shaped into the form of an eraser, it becomes an eraser. The efficient cause of the eraser is who, or what, created the eraser. In this case, it could either be the person or machine that created the eraser. The final cause of the eraser is its purpose. The purpose of an eraser is to delete mistakes caused by a