7. Aristotle's Four Causes

this is the second video on Aristotle and it is all about Aristotle's for causes Aristotle observed that the physical world is not immutable in other words it changes the world is in a continual state of emotional change he said all is flux nothing is stationary it is not eternal in other words it's transient and it is not perfect it is imperfect and has flaws he observed that things constantly move from a state of potentiality to actuality so something begins with a potential to change or to exist as some in some other way and then it

moves into a state of actuality where it's actually changed or something else has come into existence rather like we can look at a caterpillar so it has the potential to change into a butterfly and then once it's changed into the butterfly we could say it actually is a butterfly it has achieved actuality in that respect Aristotle also argued that everything has four causes and this comes from his observations of the physical world he observed that there are four elements contributing to the existence of any and every object these four factors cause it to be what

it is they comprise its essence in other words its nature or that which makes it uniquely itself first of all Aristotle observed that everything has a material cause the material cause of a thing is whatever physical matter the thing is made of our stott all gave the example of a bronze statue for which the material cause is bronze secondly he observed that everything has a formal cause this is the particular way in which the material is arranged together into a form or a pattern as Aristotle said Aristotle argued that it is this aspect of an

object that is known when we have knowledge of it we have in the mind the objects form so when I'm imagining a horse I'm imagining the form of the horse thirdly our subtle observed that everything has an efficient cause and this is what we normally think of when we think of the cause of something it's whatever or whoever has caused the object to come into being through the particular arrangement of the material into its unique form the efficient cause is that which has actualized or made real the potential object so if I have a lump

of bronze it our potential to become a statue and I the efficient cause of the sculptor form that bronze into the form of a statue I am what gives form to the material I am the efficient cause Aristotle gave the example of people so he said the father is the cause of the child and in general the maker is the cause of the thing made finally there is the final cause and we discussed this briefly in the previous video the final cause is the Telos which is the reason or the purpose for the object Aristotle

said it is the end ie that for the sake of which a thing is done so everything has these four causes material course formal course efficient cause and the final cause when we understand all four causes of an object we completely grasp the nature or the essence of that object this video has been brought to you by just education thank you for watching and please subscribe to find out more