Metaphysics Book I

Metaphysics Book I

1. It is the study of the causes and principles of reality.

2. It is the study of the entity (something that simply exists) and its own existence.

3. The Four Causes

   • The Material Cause
     • The origin of something through its matter or physical composition.
   • The Formal Cause
     • A model that reflects a generated idea/concept of something.
   • The Source of the change
     • A kind of "engine" that allows something to be generated or to move. The principle of movement.
   • The Final Cause
     • The purpose for which something exists; the reason for its existence.
   • Aristotle support this causes with an example of a statue .
   • They condition technicallly the existence of everything. Things aren't just made up of their superficial area.

4. Aristoteles tried to explain that the origin of reality went beyond the previous theories that explained that origin because those theories comprised only one type of cause.

   • During the First book Aristotle shows that he finds the assumptions/beliefs of other philosophers kind of "weak".
     • Although Aristoteles agrees with this theories, it seems to him that they have insufficient explanations.
       • Pythagoreans, Platón,

5. The Experience, the Art, and the Science

   • Men that have experience know that such a thing exists but don't know the reason.
     • Men of art know the "why" and the cause of it.
   • God is the cause and the beggining of everything, and him alone possess a science, and other sciences can't surpasses it.
   • Science is the knowledge of the cause of something..
     • Philosophy is the science of investigate the causes and principles,
   • Experience is someting particular while art is something general.

6. Substance of things

7. What is or how is God?

8. Esssence of things

9. The causes of things