Physics
- Philosophy 1
- Spring, 2002
- G. J. Mattey
|
Nature vs. Artifice
- Some things are by nature
- They have a principle of change and stability within themselves
- Artificial things have no such principle
- A thing that is by nature has a nature
- Only substances have a nature
- It is evident that there are many things by nature
|
Matter and Form
- The nature of a thing may be conceived as the matter that makes it up (e.g., flesh and bone making up an animal)
- It may also be conceived as the form of the thing (the soul of the animal)
- The form is more the nature than the matter
- We call a thing what it is (statue) when it actually has the form, not when it potentially does (what is potentially flesh and bone is not an animal without a soul)
|
Studying Nature
- Unlike the mathematician, the student of nature studies matter
- He studies its mathematical properties only insofar as it is natural
- Since nature is conceived as form, form must also be studied
- This is true in crafts as well, and craft imitates nature
- There are ends and means in crafts, and these must be studied in nature
|
The Four Causes
- In inquiring about natural change, we ask four kinds of questions about causes
- What is the matter from which it arises?
- What is its form or the account of its essence?
- What agent produced it?
- What is its end?
- In many cases, the causes are the same (e.g., what something is and what it is for are one)
|
Luck and Chance
- A dilemma:
- Everything that happens can be referred to some cause
- But we say that things come into being from luck
- Another dilemma:
- Chance is said by philosophers to be the cause of the world
- But chance cannot account for the existence of animals and plants
- We need to clarify what luck and chance are to overcome these dilemmas
|
Lucky Events
- Luck is distinguished from what is always or usually the case (you win the lottery)
- An event that is unusual may still be for something (intended to be, or by nature)
- When a cause is coincidental to what something is intentionally for, it is called luck
- For example, it is a matter of luck if I bump into you while I am on an errand, and you happen to have the money to repay a debt to me
|
Chance
- Chance is a broader category than luck
- Being lucky is the result of intentional action, which requires a decision
- Chance applies to children, animals, and inanimate objects
- A chance event happens for a reason coincidental to the natural end toward which it is directed (e.g., a horse when walking finds lush grass to eat)
|
Teleology and Necessity
- Why say that nature acts for a purpose, rather than from necessity?
- The end (e.g., the functions of animals) would then be brought about by chance
- The reason favoring teleology is that chance requires an event to be unusual
- Craft is teleological, and it either completes the work of nature or imitates nature
- Plants and animals show evidence of teleology
|
In Defense of Teleology
- Apparent irregularities in nature can be explained as the result of failure to achieve an end, rather than by chance
- Moving toward an end does not require deliberation
- The causes that are needed for the production of a thing are only material
- Necessity is in the end, rather than in the antecedent conditions that produce an event
|