FREE ESSAY ON ARISTOTLE: A COMPREHENSIVE VIEW ON NATURE AND SOCIETY

ARISTOTLE: A COMPREHENSIVE VIEW ON NATURE AND SOCIETY

In order to fully understand Aristotle's views on a natural system, it is necessary to
first explain some general principles of his philosophy. It is in his work the Categories
that Aristotle presents the concept of substance, a concept which will serve as the
foundation for much of his philosophical system. Substance, for Aristotle, is not a
universal, but rather, it is the particular; substance is not a ?such,? but a ?this.?
Thus, substance is neither in nor is it said of a subject (as are qualities). Rather it
is that which makes the subject numerically one; it is that which makes the subject the
individual. Substance is an individual man and [or] an individual horse. Aristotle still
classifies universals as substances, for they define what constitutes the substance, and
without these universals, a substance would not be what is. There are four
characteristics of substances: a substance is a ?this?, not a qualification or a 'such'
(which stresses individuality); a substance has no contraries to it (there are no
opposites of a substance); a substance does not admit more or less (there are not degrees
of a substance); and a substance can admit contraries while remaining numerically one.
In the Physics, Aristotle addresses that which constitutes Natural Objects as substances.
He states that all Natural Substances consist of both form and matter. Matter is that out
of which the substance arises and form is that into which the matter develops. In
building a table, the wood, nails, etc., are the matter, and the idea of a table, what
the end result will be, is the form, according to Aristotle. Matter and form are
inseparable from each other; there is no 'form' apart from concrete things. Aristotle
explains that all
substances contain within themselves the origin of their change and movement. He
continues by stating that the change which can occur is due to four possible natural
causes: formal cause, material cause, efficient cause, and final cause. Formal and
material cause are self explanatory, in that it is the form or the matter of the
substance which is responsible for the change within the substance. Efficient and final
cause, however, will become more clear once we investigate Aristotle's ideas of actuality
and potentiality.
We should begin the explanation of actuality and potentially by saying that form can be
seen as the actuality of the substance while matter is the potential for that form to
exist. The best way to illustrate this is through the analogy of the building of a house.
The materials, bricks and wood, should be seen as the matter, the potentially to become a
house. The end-result, the house, is the form, it is the potential made actual. The
building of the house itself, the movement, is analogous to the four types of causes
Aristotle says exist in substances. In the case of this analogy the builder would be the
efficient cause in that it is he/she who initiates the change. One could also say that
there is a final or teleological cause taking place as well, that the motive is to build
a house which serves the purpose of ?house-ness?, namely that the house is one in which
people can live. Through this analogy one can begin to see the nature of each of the
causes which can exist within a given substance. Once we see how Aristotle's ideas of
actuality and potentially relate to his ideas of form and matter (matter is potentiality,
form is it's actuality), which necessarily relate to substance, we can almost begin the
analysis of his
philosophy on an ethical system. First, however, an introduction to the idea of the
?Unmoved Mover? is necessary.
In accordance with Aristotle's teleological view of the natural world, the ?Unmoved
Mover? is a purely actual thing which motivates all things toward the ?good.? All things
try to achieve completeness, full actuality, or perfection; this implies that there must
exist an object or state towards which this striving or desire is directed. This object
or state is the ?Unmoved Mover.? This state of perfection must be one of pure actuality
since it can have no potential, being perfect; it must be non-natural since all natural
things have potential. Thus, it is not moving, yet moves other things to attempt to
achieve perfection; this thing is the final cause of the universe. Knowing, now, that
which moves all natural things towards the goods, we can begin the analysis on
Aristotle's ethical system.
In investigating Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics, it is important to remember that just
like the Physics, it is a teleological view, not on the natural world, but on human
nature, the end (telos) of which is the ?good.? Everything that humans do is aimed at
some end; this end is can either have intrinsic or extrinsic worth. This is to say that
the acts of humans can either be done for themselves (intrinsic) or can be done as a
means to something else (extrinsic). The underlying goal of all our action, Aristotle
calls the ?good?, but along with the ?good,? comes happiness. For Aristotle, then, all
human are
just trying to be happy.
The good life, then, is a life of happiness; Aristotle says such a life can be achieved
by excellence (arete) in two areas of virtue: intellectual and moral. First, we will have
to analyze moral virtue in order to understand fully the notion of intellectual virtue.
More or less, for Aristotle, the life of moral virtue, not being an exact science, is a
life of moderation. This is a common theme with most all the ancient philosophers and
authors (especially the playwrights). It is practical wisdom which is not ?a priori,? but
rather it is a learned trade which varies from situation to situation; it can not be
taught, it must be learned from experience. What, then, exactly is moral virtue? It is
acting in accordance with our nature and our striving towards the ?good,? by means of
moderate actions is everyday life. Knowing this practical type of reason, we can now
examine the theoretical type of reason, intellectual virtue.
Happiness is an activity, it is not a passive state for Aristotle. It is our potential
which allows us to be motivated by the concept of the ?Unmoved Mover,? towards a state of
perfection or perfect happiness. In order to achieve this state, a human, according to
Aristotle, must partake in an activity which is both sought for intrinsic purposes and is
in itself perfect. Intellectual virtue is this activity. It is a theoretical principle
which each person knows ?a priori;? it is the act of doing what is most natural for all
humans to do, to
reason. It is our nature according to Aristotle, to reason, and it follows that if we
achieve the perfectness or excellence (arete) in our nature, we achieve perfect
happiness. Specifically, for Aristotle, the best way to come close to achieving the
perfect ?good? is to act as a seeker of truth. The philosopher is the way to go according
to Aristotle; ?Philosophical thought is the way to consummate perfect happiness, but it
doesn't pay well.?