Aristotle final cause

The four reasons why , which Aristotle attributed to all things which were subject to change, are causa materialis, the material cause causa efficiens, the efficient cause causa formalis, the formal cause, and causa finalis, the final cause. The first three causes exist for the last one, as it is the whole reason that the other three causes are implemented they are to the final cause what the means are to the end, and form the process of which the final cause is the goal. 

The final cause was the most important for Aristotle, just because it was what was actually reached at the end of the process. Aristotle s teaching dominated the way people thought well into the Middle Ages. Thus, the four reasons why were of great importance for western philosophy. 

Aristotle s aim was to produce a complete system of knowledge that made clear how all physical aspects of the world functioned. This objective represents both the power and the problem of Aristotle s grand unified system. Aristotle s matter theory allowed for a complete description of physical objects and accounted for both their existence and their behavior. In this way, it was a powerful system, and the basic ideas on which it was based dominated matter theory in the Middle East and Europe until the seventeenth century. In Aristotle s system, natural philosophers had constantly to seek for the final cause of everything from the placement of the nose on the human face (to separate the eyes) to the purpose of clouds in the sky (to cool the earth). This led to a deep examination of matter, but it also led to much fruitless and often misleading speculation about the purpose of things. 

Although elements and qualities were useful, they did not provide a complete description of matter, since matter must have a form. That form must be applied to the matter by an active principle (the creator or former of matter) and for a certain purpose, since nothing in Aristotle s system of nature existed for no purpose. To complete any description, these facts must also be accounted for, and that was the role of the four causes. The four causes were formal, efficient, material, and final. The easiest way to understand them is to consider the building of a brick wall. If we look at a wall, we can identify the elements and the qualities by observation, but, to understand what the wall is, we must also recognize its form, origins, and purpose. 

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