The Prime Mover Essay Example

but also alterations such as growth or temperature changes. He proposed that every movement is the outcome of multiple connected events leading back to an unchanging force serving as the primary cause. Additionally, Aristotle maintained that change is constant and persistent.

According to Aristotle, the concept of a first change is invalid because it would require a previous event to initiate it, creating an infinite chain of changes. The Prime Mover, referred to as God in Metaphysics, is the initial substance responsible for movement, but remains unaffected itself. This eternal being serves as the final cause for other movements, rather than an efficient cause.

Essentially, the Prime Mover does not initiate movement through force, but rather is the telos or goal of the movement. This is significant to Aristotle because he believed that an efficient cause (such as force) would also be affected by its own action. According to Aristotle, the Prime Mover causes movement through attraction, just like a flower attracts a bee. However, unlike the flower, the Prime Mover remains unchanged. Furthermore, Aristotle specified that the Prime Mover must be immaterial.

According to Aristotle, the Prime Mover, also known as God, must be purely spiritual and intellectual as it cannot perform any physical action. Aristotle believed that matter can be acted upon and has the potential to change, but since God is immaterial, it cannot be made of any kind of stuff. God's activity is thought and as Aristotle states, 'God is a thought of a thought.' Consequently, Aristotle concludes that God only knows himself and not the physical world where humans reside and interact.

Our actions do not affect him in any way,

and he lacks a plan for us inhabitants.