48. Generalizing the Four Causes and Their Divisions

Subscribe in Podcast App | Download Transcript

Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Generalization of the Four Causes Beyond Physical Things #

Aristotle extends the concept of cause far beyond material production:

• Parts as matter: Soldiers are the “matter” of an army; syllables are the “matter” of speech; the nine orders of angels function as “parts” of the angelic realm
• Definition and form: In a definition, the genus and differences that compose it function like matter and form; the whole definition is like the form of what is defined
• Logic and causation: In a syllogism, the premises contain the “matter” (parts of the conclusion), while the middle term B functions like the “mover” uniting C and A; the middle term is compared to energeia (energy/actuality)
• Fire as example: Fire exemplifies being both matter and mover simultaneously

Berquist emphasizes that matter is used “in a very broad and loose sense” when speaking of parts in abstract domains, but these parts retain something essential to matter: they are “that from which something comes to be.”

The Three Ways to Divide Causes into Two and Two #

Division 1: Matter & Form vs. Mover & End

• Basis: Intrinsic vs. extrinsic causes
• Intrinsic causes (matter and form) are in the thing
• Extrinsic causes (mover and end) are outside the thing

Division 2: Matter & Mover vs. Form & End

• Basis: Beginning causes vs. end causes (temporal order)
• Matter and mover operate at the beginning—the carpenter and wood exist at the start of making a chair
• Form and end exist at the end—the shape and the function of sitting are fulfilled in the finished product
• This division reflects how the pre-Socratic philosophers (especially Pythagoras) focused on matter and mover as causes, since they viewed cause as beginning (archē)

Division 3: Form & Mover vs. Matter & End

• Basis: Actuality (actus)
• Form is act; mover acts only insofar as it is an act (“every agent acts insofar as it is an act”)
• The end is also an act (the completion aimed at)
• Matter and end seem disparate when viewed alone, but can be united in definition:
  • A definition can be expressed by its end: “A knife is a tool for cutting”
  • A definition can be expressed by its matter/parts: “A knife is composed of a blade and handle”
  • These can be demonstrated one from the other and combined: “A knife is a tool composed of a blade and handle for the sake of cutting”

Four Ways to Divide One Cause Against Three #

Matter vs. Form, Mover, End

• Reason for distinction: Matter is substantial potentiality; the other three are aspects of actuality
• Form is act; mover acts insofar as it is act; end (as completion) is act
• This distinction is crucial for understanding God as cause: God is pure act (actus purus) and therefore cannot be a material cause
• Matter is essentially imperfect (potential); the other causes relate to perfection and actuality

Mover vs. Matter, Form, End

• Reason for distinction: The mover is responsible for becoming (coming into being); the other three describe what is or what the thing consists of
• When describing an existing chair, we identify its matter, form, and end, but the mover (carpenter) may be absent
• This division appears in Aristotle’s biological works: the Parts of Animals discusses matter, form, and end; the Generation of Animals emphasizes the mover (reproduction)

Form vs. Matter, Mover, End

• Context: Mathematics distinguishes form from the other causes
• In geometric proofs, formal relationships (like vertical angles being equal) are proven from purely formal considerations, requiring no reference to material, efficient, or final causation

End vs. Matter, Form, Mover

• Significance: The end is the cause of all the other causes being causes
• Why does the carpenter shape wood? For the sake of sitting (the end)
• Because there is an end, the carpenter acts (mover), imposes a shape (form), and uses wood (matter)
• Without the end, there would be no reason for the other causes to operate

Key Arguments #

The End as the Cause of Causes #

“The end is the cause of all the other causes being causes.”

• The carpenter makes chairs for the sake of sitting
• Because sitting is the end, the carpenter (mover) acts
• Because the carpenter acts, wood (matter) receives its form
• Because sitting is the end, that particular form (the shape suitable for sitting) is imposed
• Without the end, none of the other causes would function as causes

God’s Causal Nature: Two and a Half Causes #

Because God is pure act (actus purus):

• God IS a cause as: Final cause (end of all things), Efficient cause (mover/maker), Exemplary cause (model after which creation is made)
• God is NOT a cause as: Intrinsic form (would be a part), Material cause (matter is pure potentiality; God is pure actuality)
• Consequence for theology: If God were a material cause, He would be the least perfect cause (matter is imperfect potentiality). Since God is the first cause, God must be the most perfect cause, identified with the best thing in the world
• The end and the good converge: The end of our reason is to know the first cause; the best thing to know is the best thing there is; therefore, the first cause must be the best thing—which it is, because it functions as the final cause of all creation

Connection Between End and Good #

• Definition of end: That for the sake of which something is or is done
• Definition of good: What all desire
• Connection: We primarily desire the end; we desire the means only because we desire the end. Therefore, if something is good, people aim at it; if people aim at it, it is (or appears to be) good
• Apparent good vs. real good: When Aristotle says “it makes no difference to call the same a good or apparent good,” he means we always pursue what seems to us good—it may be a real good or only apparent. The apparent good is desired because it resembles the truly good
• Importance: The good is not relative in a modern “wishy-washy” sense; the good is tied to what the thing is, to its nature and end

Important Definitions #

Cause (αἰτία / causa): That upon which something depends for its being or becoming; whence something depends for its existence or its coming into existence.

Matter (ὕλη / materia): That from which something comes to be, existing within it as a part.

Form (μορφή / forma): The shape, definition, or actuality that determines what a thing is; what was to be.

Mover/Maker (τὸ κινοῦν / movens): Whence first there is a beginning of motion, change, or rest. In creating, even where no pre-existing matter is transformed, God functions as maker in the broader sense of movens.

End (τέλος / finis): That for the sake of which something is or is done.

Good (ἀγαθόν / bonum): What all desire; that which is aimed at.

Act/Actuality (ἐνέργεια / actus): The fulfillment or completion of potential; the state of being in operation. God is actus purus (pure act).

Exemplary cause (causa exemplaris): An external form or model after which something is made; not intrinsic to the thing but imitated externally. God functions as the exemplary cause of creation.

Examples & Illustrations #

The Word “Cat” #

Berquist illustrates the four causes using the word “cat” written on a board:

• Matter: The three letters C, A, T
• Form: The order of the letters (distinguishing “cat” from “act” or “tac”)
• Mover: The writer who arranged the letters
• End: The signification of the animal

When looking at “cat” already written, one sees what it is now without needing to invoke the mover. The three letters in that order, signifying the animal, constitute what it is.

The Wooden Chair #

• Matter: Wood
• Form: The shape suitable for sitting
• Mover: The carpenter
• End: Sitting

If the same wood becomes a table, the form and end differ, showing matter alone does not determine identity.

The Tooth #

Intrinsic causes (matter, form, end): The tooth is made of something hard; it has a shape suited to biting (front teeth) or chewing (back teeth); it exists for the sake of these functions.

Extrinsic cause (mover): The question of how the tooth came to be in the mouth, how it developed—this pertains to the mover/efficient cause, which is the concern of the Generation of Animals.

Definition: Two Approaches #

Using demonstration (syllogism) as example:

• Definition from the end: “Demonstration is a syllogism making us know the cause, and that which is the cause cannot be otherwise.”
• Definition from matter/parts: “Demonstration is from premises,” where premises are the parts/matter of demonstration
• Combined definition: One can reason from the definition from the end to the definition by matter, showing that a syllogism making us know the cause must come from premises that provide the necessary universal knowledge

Notable Quotes #

“All parts are like, what, matter in a way.”

“B is not so much like a part of the conclusion but as what unites those parts.”

“The end is the cause of all the other causes being causes.”

“God is a cause in two and a half senses: as the end, as the mover, and as the exemplary cause, but not as intrinsic form or matter.”

“Because [God is] pure act, [God] cannot in no way be a cause in the sense of matter.”

“Every agent acts insofar as it is an act.”

Questions Addressed #

How can abstract and immaterial things have the four causes? #

By understanding the four causes in a generalized sense. The defining characteristic of matter—being “that from which something comes to be”—applies analogously to parts of definitions, premises in logic, and components of abstract wholes. The four causes describe fundamental ways things depend on or are structured by their components and principles, not merely physical production.

What is the significance of dividing causes multiple ways? #

Each division reveals different essential relationships:

• Intrinsic vs. extrinsic distinguishes what is in the thing from what is outside
• Beginning vs. end divides temporal sequence
• Actuality vs. potentiality distinguishes perfection from imperfection
• These divisions help understand how causes work together and why certain causes are grouped in specific domains (e.g., mathematics excludes material, efficient, and final causes)

Why can’t God be a material cause? #

Because:

1. Matter is pure potentiality; God is pure actuality
2. Matter is imperfect; God is perfectly perfect
3. If God were the material cause (first cause), the first cause would be the least perfect thing, contradicting the identity of the first cause with the best thing
4. The end of reason is to know the best thing; therefore, the first cause must be the best thing; therefore, God cannot function as matter

How do end and good relate, and why does this matter? #

• Both are defined in relation to desire: the end is what we ultimately desire; the good is what all desire
• We desire means for the sake of the end; we desire the end for itself
• The good is not merely subjective preference but tied to what the thing is—to its nature and end
• This grounds ethics and natural philosophy: things have real purposes and perfections, not merely conventional or relative ones
• Augustine’s statement, “We are because God is good,” means creatures exist for the sake of sharing in God’s excellence—the end (and good) of all creation is participation in divine excellence