Study on the Aristotle’s Theory of Causation PDF

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Study on the Aristotle’s Theory of Causation...

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Study on the Aristotle’s Theory of Causation The theory of 'causation' is discussed as a theory involving cause and event as two distinct events, one following the other in the sequence of time and priority, and related to each other through a causal relation. In the Posterior Analytics, Aristotle places the following crucial condition on proper knowledge: we think we have knowledge of a thing only when we have grasped its cause. The idea that proper knowledge is knowledge of the cause is repeated in Physics: we do not consider ourselves to have knowledge of something until we have grasped its why, or cause. Because Aristotle clearly sees a causal investigation as a search for an answer to the question "why?" and because a why-question is a request for an explanation, it's helpful to think of a cause as a type of explanation. In Physics II 3 and Metaphysics V 2, Aristotle offers his general account of the four causes. This account is general in the sense that it applies to everything that requires an explanation, including artistic production and human action. Here Aristotle recognizes four types of things that can be given in answer to a why- question 1. The material cause: “that out of which”, e.g., the bronze of a statue. 2. The formal cause: “the form”, “the account of what-it-is-to-be”, e.g., the shape of a statue. 3. The efficient cause: “the primary source of the change or rest”, e.g., the artisan, the art of bronze-casting the statue, the man who gives advice, the father of the child. 4. The final cause: “the end, that for the sake of which a thing is done”, e.g., health is the end of walking, losing weight, purging, drugs, and surgical tools. All four (types of) causes can play a role in explaining something. Take, for instance, the creation of a bronze statue. As a material cause, bronze is mentioned in the explanation of the statue's creation. It's worth noting that bronze isn't just the material from which the statue is made; it's also the subject of change, or the thing that undergoes the transformation and becomes a statue. The bronze is melted and poured into a new shape, the statue's shape. This shape appears as the formal cause in the explanation of the statue's creation. An adequate explanation of the production of a statue, however, must also include a reference to the efficient cause or principle that causes the statue to be created. This principle, according to Aristotle, is the art of bronzecasting the statue. This is mildly surprising and necessitates some explanation. There is no doubt that the art of bronze-casting is entrusted to a single artisan who is responsible for the statue's creation. However, according to Aristotle, the artisan's entire role in

the statue's creation is the manifestation of specific knowledge. The salient explanatory factor that should be chosen as the most accurate specification of the efficient cause is this knowledge, not the artisan who has mastered it. By choosing the art rather than the artisan, Aristotle is not only attempting to provide an explanation of the statue's production that is independent of the individual artisan's desires, beliefs, and intentions; he is also attempting to provide an entirely different type of explanation; one that does not make any reference, implicit or explicit, to these desires, beliefs, and intentions. More specifically, the art of bronze-casting the statue enters the explanation as the efficient cause because it aids us in comprehending what it takes to make the statue; that is, what steps are required to make the statue. But can such an explanation be given without mentioning the final product of the production, the statue? The answer is a resounding "no." For the statue's production, a model is created. To make the statue, a mould is created. The statue is made from bronze that has been melted and poured. The prior and subsequent stages are both for the purpose of achieving a specific goal, the statue's creation. Clearly, the statue appears in the explanation of each step of the artistic production process as the ultimate cause or reason for which everything in the production process is carried out. When we consider the four causes, we can see that Aristotle provides a teleological explanation for the creation of a bronze statue, that is, an explanation that refers to the tools or the end of the process. Furthermore, the application of psychological concepts such as desires, beliefs, and intentions is not required for a teleological explanation of the type described above. This is significant because artistic production provides Aristotle with a teleological model for studying natural processes that does not require the use of beliefs, desires, or intentions. Some argue that Aristotle explains natural processes using an inappropriately psychological teleological model, i.e. a teleological model involving a purposive agent who is somehow sensitive to the end. If the artistic model is understood in non-psychological terms, this objection can be overcome. In other words, Aristotle does not psychologize nature because his study of it is based on a teleological model that is consciously free of psychological influences. The final clarification is that by insisting on bronze-casting as the most accurate and efficient method of producing the statue, Aristotle does not rule out the possibility of appealing to the individual artisan's beliefs and desires. On the other hand, there are instances where the bronze statue's individual realisation of the art is clearly evident in the explanation. For example, a bronze statue may pique one's interest because it represents the great achievement of an artisan who has not only mastered the art but also applied it in a unique style. It is

perfectly acceptable to refer to the artisan's beliefs and desires in this case. When Aristotle says that we should look "for general causes of general things and for particular causes of particular things," he appears to make room for this case. However, idiosyncrasies that are important in studying a specific bronze statue as a great achievement of a single artisan may be irrelevant to a more central case. Let us look at the study of nature to see why. When the student of nature is concerned with the explanation of a natural phenomenon like the formation of sharp teeth in the front and broad molars in the back of the mouth, the student of nature is concerned with what is typical about that phenomenon. To put it another way, the student of nature is expected to explain why certain animals have a particular dental arrangement. In due course, we'll return to this example. For the time being, it's important to emphasise this crucial aspect of Aristotle's explanatory project, which we must keep in mind as we try to comprehend his theory of causality. In fact, this theory was created primarily (but not exclusively) for the study of nature....