Aristotle\'s Category Theory: Briefly Describe

Aristotle's category theory: Briefly describe Aristotle's substance-accident ontology and subject-predicate analysis of entities.

In understanding the universe, Aristotle aims to break everything down into its smallest basic components. Doing so, however, creates a seemingly unlimited number of parts; Aristotle compensates for this in his theory by creating various categories to describe those basic parts and their relation to the rest of the universe. He first begins to do this in Categories, where he actually creates ten categories of beings. These ten categories include substance, quantity, quality, relation, place, time, position, having, doing, and affection.

Within these more specific definitions and representations of substances, Aristotle uses his substance-accident ontology to clarify the concept that substances can exist independent of other substances. In the existence of an object's substance, it does not rely on another object for its innate existence. However, elements within that subject do depend on other objects for their existence; for example a man is a substance that can exist independently of let's say a horse. Yet, sickness cannot exist outside the context of a sick person, and so is dependent on the man for its existence, i.e. The occurrence of a sick man. Thus, there is the existence of a subject-predicate relationship, where there is a subject, and something being said in dependence with that subject. When one talks about something, that thing is then the subject, and what is being said about that thing then becomes the predicate in the subject-predicate relationship. The subject is dependent of the predicate, and can exist independently by itself. However, the predicate is absolutely dependent on the subject for its very existence.

2. Aristotle' Four Causes

The Four Causes were created as a way to provide different methods for answering the question of "why?" The basic underlying meaning of asking why is to understand the nature and origins of the objects and elements within the context of the universe. This thinking comes from his origins in Socratic philosophy. Therefore, the Four Causes provide a multi-faceted approach to the understanding of different elements of our world. Developed from his analysis of change, Aristotle aims to provide a full spectrum approach to understanding the unknown by providing a multitude of answers for a single question, thus covering all basis of that understanding.

According to Aristotle's thinking, there are four distinct causes that can be used to explain a variety of why questions. These four causes include the material, efficient, formal, and final causes. These are then used as primary categories that are used as explanatory tools. The material cause is the explanation for the material elements of a given object or concept, where the efficient cause relates to how it came to be in any given place. The formal cause then explains how the object was created, with the final cause being the final purpose, reason for being, or end (telos). These four causes can then be used to help explain a variety of objects and concepts, from the simplest to the most complex. Even the existence of man and all of his peculiar virtues and characteristics can be carefully dissected by implementing the Four Causes. The material cause explains his physiological make up, while the efficient cause examines reasons why man is on earth. The formal cause would help dissect reasons for how man was created, while the final cause would help discover the ultimate purpose of man's existence.

3. Aristotle's Theory of Change

In his Theory of Change, Aristotle attempts to explore the nature of how ad why things evolve, or change in form from one object or concept to another. One of the greatest wonders of man, which is still even debates today, is he process of how things evolve to be. Well, Aristotle presented his Theory of Change to account for how and why objects develop into varying forms.

This theory then posits the idea that matter is the main fundamental component of change. In many cases, when an object changes, it is the matter that changes, and not the more abstract form hat embodies that matter. In this idea, objects evolve from what was previously non-existent. The objects themselves do not appear from nowhere, but rather that they are morphed in their physical form from another form. For example, a pencil comes non-pencilness, which is typical from a tree, and so on. Thus, the object existed before as something other than it exists now, and through a change in its material form and composition of matter, it changes and becomes what it is today. Therefore, Aristotle is positing the idea that all objects are derived from something else through a change in material matter. Thus, men were not dropped down onto the earth, but rather evolved into man from some sort of non-manness with a change, or a multitude of changes, in their physical matter. This helps represent a very early scientific view of man evolving from other form of matter.

4. Aristotle's theory of four grades of potentiality and actuality

Also incorporated into the construction of Aristotle's complex philosophy is the notion of potentiality and actuality. Aristotle also believes in the differentiation of actually acting and the ability to act. This idea is formulates Aristotle's concept of the four degrees of potentiality and actuality.