The Doctrine of the Four Causes

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The Doctrine of the Four Causes

• Aristotle

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The Pre-Socratic Philosophers were preoccupied,
for the most part, with the problem of change.
According to Aristotle, the Pre-Socratic thinkers
as well as Plato failed to properly explain
change because they tended to focus exclusively
on only one cause. For example, Empedocles and
Democritus tended to focus on material causality
alone, and Plato focused almost exclusively on
formal cause.
According to Aristotle, there are four causes
that are involved in every change.
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Agent Cause That by which there is
coming-to-be.
the artist is the agent of change
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Formal cause that for the sake of which
there is coming to be.
the agent is acting for the sake of bringing
about the form of a certain personage (Moses?
Zeus?)
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Material cause That from which there is
coming to be.
the clay
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Final cause That for the sake of which
there is coming to be.
The final cause is that for the sake of which
there is coming-to-be. But this is also how
Aristotle defines formal cause. The two
coincide, for Aristotle. The end or final cause
of the change is the realization of the form in
the matter. This is called the end of the
generation. But there is also the end of the
generated. Once the statue is completed, there
is a purpose for it, for example, to enter it
into a contest, or to use it to help decorate
ones living room, or to present to someone as a
gift. So, final cause is two-fold
End of the generation
Final Cause
End of the generated
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• Final cause
• That for the sake of which there is coming to
  be.
• The end of the generation (the fully formed
  sculpture)
• the end of the generated (to display in a museum)