Brief reminder of Aristotle’s four causes

Having a PhD may be indicative of one’s love for wisdom, but it doesn’t necessarily make one a philosopher. With that in mind, here are Aristotle’s four causes:

• Material cause:
  • what is the object of discourse?
  • what are we talking about?
• Efficient cause:
  • action: what is done to it?
  • actor: who does it?
• Formal cause:
  • which methods are used to do that?
• Final cause:
  • towards what use / what goal?
  • why is this done?
  • what for (in English) / pourquoi (in French) / hvorfor (in Danish) / warum (in German)

A first example

The sentence “To make a dish, a cook operates over the ingredients according to the recipe.” includes all four causes:

• “To make a dish” is the final cause,
• “a cook operates” is the efficient cause,
• “over the ingredients” is the material cause, and
• “according to the recipe” is the formal cause.

A second example

The sentence “Using a toothbrush, Michael Scofield unhinges the prison door to escape.” also includes all four causes:

• “Using a toothbrush” is the formal cause,
• “Michael Scofield unhinges” is the efficient cause,
• “the prison door” is the material cause, and
• “to escape” is the final cause.

A third example

Ditto for “My program computes a function over discrete data to predict the weather.”:

• “My program computes” is the efficient cause,
• “a function” is the formal cause,
• “over discrete data” is the material cause, and
• “to predict the weather” is the final cause.

A fourth example

Ditto for “My recognition algorithm for infinite strings operates in linear time.”: the goal is to recognize, the action is an algorithm, this algorithm operates on infinite strings, and methodologically it proceeds in linear time, i.e., in a time that is proportional to the size of the given strings.

Exercise 1

1. Write a few sentences where Aristotle’s four causes are visible.
2. Write a few paragraphs where Aristotle’s four causes are visible.

Harald: So we need to do what?

Mimer (patiently): You need to write several sentences and several paragraphs.

Alfrothul: Several sentences and several paragraphs about what?

Mimer: Any topic you fancy.

Brynja: And we write them how?

Mimer: In a way such that Aristotle’s four causes are visible.

Vigfus: Er... Why do we need to do this?

Mimer: To acquire control over your narratives. “I code, therefore I don’t need to think” is no way to go.

René Descartes: This is getting interesting. Do you guys need a chairperson?

Mimer: Mr. Descartes, thanks for stopping by!

Less is more

Sometimes, one cause is enough:

• Material cause:

  Question: What is this rock?

  Answer: Granite.

• Efficient cause:

  Question: What is this painting?

  Answer: A Picasso.

• Formal cause:

  Question: What is this mathematical figure?

  Answer: A triangle.

• Final cause:

  Question: What is a pair of compasses?

  Answer: Something to draw circles.

Summary

Aristotle’s four causes address the aspects of a thing. They are often used to define this thing.

Version

Fixed a typo in the second sentence, thanks to Rana Harris Farooq’s constant vigilance [05 Mar 2021]

Created [17 Jan 2021]