The Prime Mover Essay Example
The Prime Mover Essay Example

The Prime Mover Essay Example

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  • Pages: 3 (560 words)
  • Published: September 7, 2017
  • Type: Essay
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According to Aristotle, the ultimate aim of natural items such as plants or animals is not a deliberate intent or plan but rather the end result of the standard process of growth and development that a typical specimen of the species experiences. The end goal does not have to align with any particular intention. Aristotle distinguishes final causes in nature from chance or randomness.

According to Aristotle, nature has a regularity where things happen “always or for the most part.” This suggests that biological individuals consistently take on a specific form, which is what they are striving for. In other words, the final cause of a developing plant or animal is typically its formal cause, or the form it will ultimately achieve. The concepts of material and formal causes are important for change since they allow for the differentiation between mat

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ter and form in terms of change.

The world is described as having both static and dynamic properties. Its static nature reflects its current state, with efficient and final causes explaining the way things are. On the other hand, its dynamic character explains how matter has taken form and accounts for change over time. Further explanation is needed to understand final causes, which relate to proper functioning or essence. Interestingly, such causes need not be conscious; they can be viewed as formal or efficient factors in character formation and DNA configuration. While modern perspectives may focus on DNA preservation as a final cause, Aristotle would view it more broadly as "performing its appropriate function in its community."

Aristotle believed that any type of motion necessitates a force to commence it, including not just physical displacement

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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.

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