Four Causes?

Aristotle presented the notion that there are four causes of being: material, efficient, final, and formal. The material cause is matter. The human body is a prime example. The efficient cause is the force, which acts on bodies to cause action and reaction. The final cause is the intention for which a thing exists. The formal cause is the form of a thing. Human nature, for example, forms men.

Consider a statue. Its matter is the bronze from which it was forged; its efficient cause is the sculpture who molded it; its final cause is the beauty or courage or whatever it is meant to inspire; its formal cause is the image of a man.

Aristotle's theory was a great improvement over earlier ideas, which recognized only the efficient cause. The philosopher, Democritus is associated with the idea. The Western world generally adopted Aristotle's idea -- until, that is, the beginnings of modern science turned the clock back. Most men today believe that everything can be explained by reference to efficient causes alone. Their reasoning is that it simplifies things to consider them only from the viewpoint of forces interacting to produce things.

There are a minority of us who remember Aristotle's idea. It is far better than the ideas of Democritus. But I wonder if there are some things missing: causes not counted among the four given. For example, one might consider these seven causes: God, the formal cause, the ether (space), love, desire, the efficient cause and the material cause...