MENTAL FURNITURE #3 - Galileo | УМСТВЕННАЯ ОБСТАНОВКА (№ 3) — Галилей | |
Moshe Feldenkrais said that if you want to understand human action shift your focus from knowing 'why' to knowing 'how'. That shift did not originate with Moshe but with Galileo Galilei (1564-1642). It is what differentiates the natural philosophy of the Ancients represented by Aristotle (394-322 B.C.) from the origins of modern science represented by Galileo. Galileo is granted the honor of being the first modern scientist. In a future article I will make the case for Moshe Feldenkrais being the last modern scientist. | | |
Aristotle held views on many subjects from drama to mathematics to biology. His views on causality and motion will be mentioned here. Aristotle distinguished four types of causality: 1) material cause - the matter from which a thing is formed; 2) formal cause - the form to be realized; 3) efficient cause - that which actually causes the event, and; 4) final cause - the purpose to be realized. Aristotle used the example of a statue to illustrate his point: the block of marble from which it is to be hewn is the material cause; the form which is present in the sculptor's mind during the work is the formal cause; the sculptor himself, through the intermediary of his tools, in his chipping away at the stone is the efficient cause; the destination or purpose of the completed statue is the final cause. | | |
The first three causes refer to the thing itself. The fourth cause, final cause, evidences the very existence of a thing as the realization of a purpose. For Aristotle every living and every inanimate thing has purpose. Explanations which traffic in a thing's purpose are called teleological. In Aristotle's view the natural place for things is at rest. All motion is either natural or violent. Natural motion describes an object's movements towards its future final resting place where it achieves its purpose. Violent motion results from external forces which push or pull an object. For Aristotle, the cause of all natural movement is the Prime Mover. The Prime Mover does not set all things in motion at the beginning of time but instead draws all things unto it at the end of time. Not external gravity, but rather the object's own innate tendency explains why an object falls to earth. Aristotle's world view is common-sensical and intuitive. It held sway for 2,000 years. | | |
