Aristotle

Aristotle

1. Aristole was a scientist, basing all of his apporach on evidence amd observation.

   • Aristotle was an empiricist- a doctrine that all knowldge of matter of facet derived from experience
   • Plato was a rationalist-a doctrine that all nowlegde of matter or fact derives fromreason alone without recourse of experience.

2. The Four Causes: There are four causes involved in the creative process. Material (what it is made of). Formal (How it is organised). Efficent (what it brings about). Final (Its goal or purpose

   • Example: A knife. Material (The metal). Formal (sharp edge). Efficient (the tool maker that fashioned it). Final (to cut or slice)

3. The uncaused case. If everything in the world is a part of a chain of cause and effects then there must have been something that started the chain off. This is the uncasueed cause and because it has no cause its necessary.

   • This is God

4. The Prime Mover. Everything is in motion and change and therfore there must be something that has started this all of and aristotle descirbes this as the prime mover. The Prime mover is not the first push in the chain that is the uncaused cause but it is the final cause.

5. Weaknesses

   • He does not accpet that there is anything beyond sensory experience
   • What if there is no final cause?
   • Relationship betqween the prime mover and the universe is unclear
   • Aristotle Prime Mover is transcendent and cannot interact in the universe in he way that believers often toalk aboyut Gods activity in the world
   • The causual relationship between the prime mover thinking and the universe is unclear

6. Strengths

   • He recognises that reasonn can only offer partial truth. Full knowldge only comes through expeperience
   • He propsoes that the human person is body and sould and a well balanced person uses all aspects of self
   • His ideas fit with modern scientific method (bifg Bang)