Reflection 14

Aristotle was a Greek philosopher in the 4Th Century. His theory was based on the world being a whole. Part of the theory was that all nature was a continuous cycle of lifeless matter. Some of these were Earth, water, fire, and air. He believed that humans were different from all other living things because they have the ability to think and reason.

Aristotle categorized all living things from lowest (worms) to highest; highest would be humans because they have the ability to reason unlike animals. The basic cycle of Aristotle's Chain of Being went from lowest which would be an animal such as a worm, then in between which would be something that shared the qualities of humans, and finally highest which would be humans.

Aristotle used the four causes regularly. The four causes were material, formal, efficient, and final. With the material cause, "that out of which a thing comes to be, and which persists" The statement of essence also known as the formal cause, dealt with "the account of what-it-is to-be, and the parts of the account." The efficient cause was "the primary source for change." And the basis for the final cause was "the end, that for the sake of which a thing is done."

An example of applying the causes to real life goes as such. A hand is made of flesh and bones. Having blood, veins, fingers, and fingernails makes this a hand. God makes a hand. Being able to grasp and hold things makes this a hand. The formula for attributing the four causes to things is what is it, what makes it what it is, who makes it, and why is it.

Aristotle's thoughts and beliefs still have an impact on Western education today. When learning about food cycles, we learn that the way of life is for the smaller airmail to be overcome by the bigger animal; this is just like Aristotle's Chain of Being. Those lowest on the spectrum us overcome by those that are in the middle, then the ones in the middle are overcome by those that are highest on the spectrum. We even see the Chain of Being happening in social classes.

When thinking of how Aristotle's four causes relates to Western Education. one can say that we still use the four causes when reasoning and rationalizing. When we have to come up with answers t questions or even theories for science projects, there is at least one or two parts of the four causes are being used.