Meep

9 Pages 2370 Words

atter—a sometimes shadowy, indefinite substance with the potential to become most anything—and form which transforms matter into actual particular things. Aristotle felt that part of the procedure of “becoming” required two things, the matter as a substratum and the form. The form functions, shapes and defines the thing. Both matter and the form, according to Aristotle, were transcendent and imperishable entities. Matter and form were never separated from one from the other. Matter cannot exist without form, and form cannot exist without matter. The most important and the most valuable is form. This applies equally to the creations of man and to the creations of nature. III. The Four Causes Aristotle’s doctrine of the four causes is easily misunderstood. To charge Aristotle with having only a dim understanding of causality, however is to accuse him of missing a target he wasn’t even aiming at. It is natural for us to think of Aristotle’s “causes” in terms of our notion of cause-and-effect, however this is misleading in several ways. We must keep this in mind whenever we use the word “cause” in connection with his doctrine. Aristotle drew from the attempts of all his predecessors, and learned from their mistakes. There are different ways of answering the question of why things are as they are. These ways of answering correspond to four basic kinds of causes to which Aristotle taught: Ø The material cause is the basic stuff out of which the thing is made. The material cause of a house, for example, would include all building materials used in its construction. An explanation of the house could not exist unless they were present in its composition. Ø The formal cause is the pattern or essence in conformity with which these materials are assembled. Thus, the formal cause of our exemplary house would be the sort of thing that is represented on a blueprint of its design. This, too, is part of the explanation of the hou...