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Aristotle's Four Causes - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Material Cause - what is it made of?
      - Efficient Cause - how did it come into existence?
      - Formal Cause - what is its shape or characteristics?
      - Final Cause - why? what is its purpose?
- - - - If an object fulfils its purpose, it is good. Goodness is not found in another world, like Plato's Form of the Good, but intrinsic to the object itself.
  - - - Plato argues true knowledge comes from the non-physical World of the Forms. We recognise the Form of Beauty in physical things.
    - - Not everyone will agree with the idea of a soul as a formal cause (subjective) - what makes me 'me', or what makes a chicken cluck and move, could be physical processes.
    - - Purpose does not have to be intrinsic - purpose is given to the object by its creator. Purpose is a human construct.
      - Some things have many purposes or purposes change
      - Some things don't have a purpose
- - - - The Prime Mover as the final cause explains the reason and purpose for this constant state of motus.
  - - - The Prime Mover as the final cause gives everything an ultimate purpose - it gives the final reason why
      - We can observe that natural things seem to have telos and drawn towards an end goal or purpose. For example, an acorn is drawn towards a purpose of becoming a tree or squirrel food.
        
        The Prime Mover explains the reason why change and motus occur because it draws and attracts everything.
      - The Prime Mover explains why there is perpetual motion, why the planets move in predictable rotations and why there is no beginning of the universe.
        
        The Prime Mover is pure actuality and this attracts all things to its perfection, although it is aware of nothing beyond itself
    - - The Prime Mover is pure thought, thinking about thought, how can there be casual connection with the physical universe, as there must be, if the Prime Mover affects and moves it?
      - Aristotle cannot observe the Prime Mover using sense. He has moved into rationalism, away from empiricism and is using reason instead of the senses and so is subject to the same criticisms as Plato.
      - Observation of purpose is a human construct. Humans give things purpose, so purpose (telos) is something that is external to an object, no intrinsic.