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"Why" is not a query of causality, but rather purpose. The proper word would be "How".
by transfire 6y ago
"Why" is not a query of causality, but rather purpose. The proper word would be "How".
- kgwgk 6y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_causes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_causes Aristotle holds that there are four kinds of answers to "why" questions: Matter (the material cause of a change or movement): The aspect of the change or movement that is determined by the material that composes the moving or changing things. For a table, such might be wood; for a statue, such might be bronze or marble. Form (the formal cause of a change or movement): A change or movement caused by the arrangement, shape, or appearance of the thing changing or moving. Aristotle says, for example, that the ratio 2:1, and number in general, is the cause of the octave. Agent (the efficient or moving cause of a change or movement): Consists of things apart from the thing being changed or moved, which interact so as to be an agency of the change or movement. For example, the efficient cause of a table is a carpenter, or a person working as one, and according to Aristotle the efficient cause of a boy is a father. End or purpose (the final cause of a change or movement): A change or movement for the sake of a thing to be what it is. For a seed, it might be an adult plant; for a sailboat, it might be sailing; for a ball at the top of a ramp, it might be coming to rest at the bottom.
- squibbles 6y agoI think if you remove consciousness from the equation, identifying causality would be a reasonable response to why. However, there is an underlying assumption that causality actually exists. In that case, I think the existence of causality would have to be taken as axiomatic.