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ARISTOTLE - Part 1
"Introduction"

Aristotle was quite different from Plato in his mental

constitution and orientation. Plato was a poet, mystic, and
ethico-religious thinker. Therefore, his ideas were expressed
through myths, metaphors, and comparison. Further, the
language Plato used was difficult to interpret for other
philosophers. On the other hand, Aristotle, a student of Plato,
was the father of logic and biology. With an extensive
command over other discipline also, he was a scientist and
thinker, therefore his work is in authoritative presentation.

Similarities b/w Plato and Aristotle

- both Plato & Aristotle are idealists, i.e. supremacy of forms

over matter, higher over lower, thoughts over things.
- Plato did held - idea of Good - most real & highest. Idea of
Good guides the world of hierarchies of ideas. Similarly,
Aristotle maintains God as Actus Purus or prime mover or
Pure form or form of forms who moves the world without
moving itself at the apex. Good is the uncaused cause, causa
sui, or the first cause
- According to Plato - world of becoming strives to participate
in an idea & become perfect, similarly According to Aristotle
all things are moved by Actus Purus as the object of desire
on the part of things.
- Both reject the mechanical explanation of the world and
accept the teleological explanation. That is for Plato, idea of
the Good is the supreme end or the purpose of the world.
Similarly, Aristotle notes the form as the purpose of life.

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NOTE :
As a biologist, Aristotle accepts Teleology and holds that
form is implanted in each embryo, so that it becomes a
member of species and moves towards its actualization.

Example: Incubated egg in due course of time will become a

chick. Aristotle accepts that even biological world is moved
by unconscious teleology. In essence the world is controlled
& regulated by the prime mover.

- Purpose of this universe for Plato - release from bondage,

for Aristotle - reach perfection of self. - - --
Both Plato & Aristotle are ethical in their orientation & reject
Hedonism (Pleasure in the meaning of life), because they
accept Good Life on Eudaimonia to be the goal of life

Differences
- Plato as poet & mathematician used metaphorical,
allegory, mythical language, while Aristotle being
scientist and physician used precise language, scientific
concepts, and technical terms.
- Plato used mathematics therefore emphasized on static
nature of the world, while Aristotle was influenced by
Biology, therefore focused on Dynamism, growth and
decay in life as well as movement.
NOTE: Plato's mathematical view will inspire Spinoza's
monism and Aristotle's dynamic view will inspire
Leibnitz’s monadology.
- The concept of of Good of Plato was taken up by Aristotle
as concept of God as the prime-mover.

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Criticism of Plato Theory of Ideas (Already mentioned in last

chapter).

ARISTOTLE'S PHILOSOPHY
- According to Aristotle, Philosophy is the foundation for all other
science therefore he called it as first education. According to him,
Philosophy means to satisfy the curiosity about this world.

Theory of Causation
- As a scientist, Aristotle concerned himself with collection of data
and observable facts through observation. He established that in
human production, there are 4 types of causes, which were
simultaneously present.
Example: making of a chair.
- Material cause: Substratum which is made into on. other form.
Example: wood.
- Formal cause. It is the blue print, shape, design. There must also be
the potentiality in the material.
- Efficient cause: Energy, skill, instrument, motion, a medium like
carpenter/potter.
- Final cause: purpose for which a thing is to be made. Example:
official chair/rest chair.
Note: Aristotle has combined all the 4 causes into two entities that is
form and matter

"Difference between causation of science & Aristotle”

- Concepts of causation of Aristotle isn't scientific in model sense.
1. For Aristotle material cause is not the same as physical matter. He
has described this in variety of other ways.
2. According to science, causes are present one by one but for
Aristotle all the 4 causes are simultaneously present.
3. Science doesn't accept the teleological explanation (purposeful) of
factual events, while Aristotle in his philosophy explains change
through teleology.
4. Modern science doesn't seek explanation of world as a whole, but
only of particular events while Aristotle is trying to explain world as
a whole.
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MATTER and FORM"

MATTER:

- It is ordinarily understood as physical material like Iron/

Gold/silver /earth/ clay. But Aristotle has accepted meaning of
matter as to be much deeper. According to him matter is that
which has no shape, no quality of any type or kind.
Example: It is neither red, nor green. It is neither heavy, nor
light, neither smooth nor rough.

- Matter of Aristotle appears to be as good as nothing but

According to Aristotle it can't be nothing or non-being, because
it is something which has to be moulded by the form into
nature organisms, objects, or man.

- Comparison can be drawn with a lump of clay in the hands of

a potter, the clay is not having any form, is a wrong statement
because a lump of clay as having no definite mathematical
form, but it has the potentiality to actualize and gain a
definite form like a plate or pot or a toy.

- Formless matter is known as materia-Prima, According to

Aristotle this materia prima has all the potentiality which can
be actualized in late forms.

MATTER

appears nothing but not nothing

Potential to actualize
change its form
not physical material of science

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FORM:
- Form is the most important aspect of any existing thing.
Example: the value of a chair, not because it has wood, but
because it has the form. Either of a dining chair or an office
chair. Therefore form is the real thing about the world.
- Form can't exist by itself. It must have a substratum of
matter.
- Form is the universal. Example: [Redness, blueness). But
forms can't exist by themselves. What exists is a green leaf or
blue book, Green-ness or blue-ness does not exist apart from
Green or Blue things. Hence neither form/matter exists. What
exist is the formed matter, in an inseparable relation
- We can distinguish, form & matter in our thoughts but we
can't separate them in actual state of affairs therefore Aristotle
has accepted formed matter to be the actual substance.
- According to Aristotle, matter is not just physical matter but
is relative to the form. Physical matter remains the same.
Example: Iron remains iron, no matter what shape or size it
takes.
- For Aristotle, Form is not just physical shape. Example:
“Rectangle remains the same shape, no matter in how many
things it is found. Therefore, form means much more than the
shape and size.
- Aristotle has accepted form and matter as relative terms,
what is matter in one relation becomes form in another
relation. Example: Wood is matter in relation to the chair but
chair is matter in relation to sofa. Therefore form and matter
are fluid . There is an ability to change.
- In the Language of W.T Stace, “What becomes is the matter,
what it becomes is form”.

FORMED MATTER
- It is the substance for Aristotle, it signifies the inseparable
relation between form and matter.
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Matter (Potentiality)
Formed MATTER
Form (Actuality) (pure form) (God) (Actus purus)
God - Purest form - Actus purus.
Evolution, growth, change, decay (This evolution is unconscious
actualization or teleology.)
Formed matter (materia prima)
Form/matter
Form/matter
Form/matter
- In the Continuum of formed matter or materia prima at one and and
pure form known as god at other end. The complete continuum accepts
two extremes while the objective world is made up of formed matter.
According to Aristotle, the extreme two ends are Logical possibilities
and not actual possibilities.

POTENTIALITY & ACTUALITY"

“Potentiality"
- matter by itself has no form. It can be said as absolute formless,
flawless and purposeless.

- Potentiality means possibility and uncertainty while actuality

means purpose, action, and energy.

- Matter is not non-being and as it can become anything by the

generating principle of form.

Example: Clay by itself is nothing but it has the potentiality to become

either a brick or a box, or an utensil. This possibility inherent in
matter is called Potentiality by Aristotle.

In other words, matter has the capacity to become something actual,

Potentiality means uncertainty which is indescribable.

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Actuality"
- what makes the matter actual is form.
Example: Potter uses his skills with the idea of brick in his
mind shaping the indeterminate clay (matter) into actual
bricks. Hence form is the principle of actualization. All things
are caught up in development from less to more development.
- It is the form which leads to unfoldment. Example: In case of
an organism matter & form or potentiality & actuality work
together inseparably
Example: The end of becoming a chick is a fertilised egg. The
fertilized egg has potential to become chick but it is actualized
only when the form of a chick actualizes itself in the egg.

"Teleological evolution"
- In human production, mation is given a for conscious
teleslegy Frample, Pomer changes the clay into pot with the
purpose to hold water when Anistotle compares human
production with duas production, he concept of teleology.
Aristotle to be uncensusine telesingy, that therefore is not in
the control of our mind

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