Single Idea 8332

[catalogued under 26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 3. Final causes]

Full Idea

The first type of cause is that from which a thing is made (bronze of a statue); the second type is the form or pattern (ratio 2:1 for the octave); the third is the source (the deviser of a plan); the fourth type is the end (as health causes walking).

Gist of Idea

The four causes are the material, the form, the source, and the end

Source

Aristotle (Physics [c.337 BCE], 194b23-)

Book Reference

Aristotle: 'Physics', ed/tr. Waterfield,Robin [OUP 1996], p.39


A Reaction

[Compressed quotation] These four became known as the Material Cause, the Formal Cause, the Efficient Cause, and the Final Cause. For a statue they are the bronze, the shape, the sculptor, and the beauty. We now focus on the Efficient Cause.