EDF1005-Reflection #14

Aristotle saw the world in a biological way which is how we derive most of the organisms we see today. He made a chain which was considered “Great Chain of Being” which had all types of species and what would connect each one of them would be their logical progression. We would be the highest one on that Chain of Being. What would differentiate us from the other organisms was our form of reason. With this he tried to form a relationship between all living things. Aristotle had Four Causes that were the most obvious. Each one of them was in the form of questions. The first two causes being the classificatory causes. Number one is “What kind of thing is it?” which is a formal cause. Number two asks “What is it made of?” which is the material cause. These first two causes show how the material/thing came about. The final two causes were the dynamic causes. Number 3 asks “What were the functions or the specific design of the object?” which this is the final cause. The last cause, Number four asked “How did the thing come to be?” which is the efficient cause, the effect. Aristotle wanted everyone to be happy and believed this was the most important thing in life. I agree with him in this statement because at the end of the day it is important that we, ourselves are happy. In order for this to happen we must be the best and succeed the best way we can. Aristotle believes motion is eternal. He believed that things that were in motion were set to be moved, and something causes them to do so. He said that the primary cause of motion was locomotion which is what causes something to move. To Aristotle, the “Unmoved Mover” didn’t cause anything to set in motion. It was usually contemplating and was something beautiful. He said this was eternal and was neither created nor can be destroyed. The influence it has on today’s Western civilization is that according to Aristotle, this is what causes the world to move in motion. The Unmoved Mover was superior to everything else in the world. It is what caused everything else to move. Aristotle brought about all these ideas and theories which have been reviewed and developed further. He made many observations with the world around us and the things living in it today.