Introduction to Philosophy

1
Introduction to Philosophy

• Aristotle

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Quick Background

• 384-322 BC
• Born in Macedonia
• Not from Athens
• Dad was a royal doctor
• Loved Biology
• Comes to Athens when 17
• Studied with Plato (the Academy)
• Returned to Macedonia
• Taught Alexander the Great

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Quick Background

• Alexander cared greatly for Aristotle
• His great teacher
• Spread his teachings as he conquered
• Returns to Athens 335 BC
• Opens up the Lyceum
• Alexander dies in 323 BC
• Aristotle flees when charged with impiety
• Doesnt want Athens to sin against philosophy
  twice

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MANY Works!!

• Logic
• Ethics
• Physics
• Metaphysics
• Biology
• Meteorology

• Mathematics
• Psychology
• Zoology
• Rhetoric
• Aesthetics
• Politics

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Aristotles Influence

• So influential that by the Middle Ages, he was
  simply called the philosopher.
• Shaped how European universities were formed
• This shaped European culture
• Made a saint by the Catholic church

Righteous!!
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Aristotles Influence

• Aristotle was the great ancestor of modern
  science
• His idea of the universe (geocentric) was widely
  accepted for 1500 years
• Not until Galileos (heliocentric)
• What we perceive give us
• insight as to what things are.
  

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Aristotle Sight

• Sight was very important to Aristotle as well
• Theoria (Greek) looking at
• Theory, theoretical, etc.
• For Aristotle, sight becomes a metaphor for
  knowledge
• The reason is that sight, more than any of the
  other senses, gives us knowledge of things.
• - Metaphysics

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Plato Aristotle
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Plato Aristotle

• Both seek objective truth
• Against relativism of Sophists
• Protagoras (Man is the measure of all things)
• Both ran schools
• Both created foundations of Western Phil.
• Both believed heavily on sight
• Both believed in the Forms

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Plato vs. Aristotle

• Focuses on the question
• Gives us abstract answers
• The answers are out there in the World of the
  Intellect
• Appearances are less than the FORMS (true
  reality)
• Senses deceive us

• Focuses on the answer
• Gives us common sense answers
• The answers are here in this world (nature)
• Appearances are an important clue to reality
• Our senses give us knowledge

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Aristotle had 2 problems with Platos Forms

• Third Man Argument
• Chorismos (separation)

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Third Man Argument (TMA)

• Argues against the we have many different trees.
• We can tell that they are all trees because a
  Form (F1) of tree exists that shows how they are
  all similar.
• But then dont we need another Form of Tree (F2)
  to show how the individual trees and the original
  Form of tree are similar?

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Third Man Argument (TMA)

• This can go on ad infinitum
• (forever, infinity)
• To Aristotle, this is ridiculous
• There must be a better relationship between the
  Forms and the particulars

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Chorismos (separation)

• Two problems
• How can the Form of a tree cause treeness in a
  tree here in this world if they never come into
  any contact, influence, etc.
• It cant
• If the Forms are eternal and unchanging, how can
  the Forms explain things coming into existence
  and changing?
• They cant!!
• (How do they interact anyways??!)

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Aristotles Answer
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Plato vs. Aristotle

• Forms exist in the World of the Intellect

• Forms exist in the World of the Senses

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Forms Matter

• How the Forms are related to matter
• Hylomorphism
• Hule matter
• Morphe form
• A tree is not a tree because it participates in
  the idea (Form) of tree somewhere else
• A tree is a tree because it contains the idea
  (Form) of a tree within its matter

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No form without matter, no matter without form.
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Plato vs. Aristotle
"Pure Form"
"Tree"
"Tree"
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"Pure Form"

• No matter!
• No change!
• No motion!
• The Unmoved Mover
• God

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Aristotles Arguments against Plato

• Third Man Argument
• Chorismos (separation)

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Aristotles Four Causes

• Material Cause
• Formal Cause
• Efficient Cause
• Final Cause

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Lets take a deeper look

• Material Cause
• MATTER
• What is it made of?
• The tree is made of wood, water, etc.
• Hence this is its MATERIAL Cause

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Lets take a deeper look

• Formal Cause
• FORM / IDENTITY
• What is it (right now)?
• The tree has a trunk, branches, leaves, etc.
• Its a tree!
• Hence its being a tree is its FORMAL Cause

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Lets take a deeper look

• Efficient Cause
• CHANGE
• How does the tree change?
• By collecting water, sunlight and by growing, the
  tee changes
• The tree growing (changing) is its EFFICIENT
  Cause

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Lets take a deeper look

• Final Cause
• END RESULT / GOAL
• What is it becoming? What is its purpose?
• The acorn is striving to become an oak tree
• The goal of being an oak tree is its FINAL Cause
• Does everything have a goal?

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Teleological Universe

• Everything has a goal its striving towards
• The acorn wants to become and oak tree
• The baby tadpole wants to become a large, healthy
  frog
• The egg wants to become a chicken
• To Aristotle, this is very important obvious in
  nature (biology)

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Lets take a deeper look

• Material Cause
• Efficient Cause
• Formal Cause
• Final Cause

Pre-Socratics
YEAH!!
Plato
Aristotle
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Review

• Hylomorphic reality
• Matter Form
• Two Arguments against Plato
• Third Man Argument
• Chorismos
• Four Causes
• Material, Efficient, Formal, Final
• Teleological Universe

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Homework

• Give an example of your own of how Aristotles
  Four Causes exist here in this world
• Make sure to
• Include a short explanation of hylomorphism
• What the Four Causes are
• How they are present in the example
• How there is a teleological goal to the example
• Worksheet, story, poem, song, picture, website,
  PowerPoint, dramatic presentation, etc.