Aristotle’s Core Concepts: Substance, Cause, Power, and Happiness
Aristotle’s Core Concepts
1. Substance
Substance is the primary way of being, referring to specific individuals existing independently and supporting accidents. There are many substances (e.g., many people), and all other ways of being are accidents of substances (quantity, quality, relation, place, time, position, status, action, and passion). Substances are only specific individuals, and it is the individual to whom we attribute “being” or “substance.”
Distinguish between primary substance (specific individual) and secondary substances (genus-species). Aristotle argues that “individuals appear, only the species exists, [but] do not exist separately.” He further argues that substance is a composite of matter and form. Form is the essence of the individual, the matter is the essence of the individual; only she is definable and knowable. The shape is common to all species and pre-exists the individual; the matter is that individually, the individual, it is the ultimate subject. Form updates and sets the matter.
2. Cause
Knowing something means understanding its causes. The nature of beings is their form, which is the cause of the moment and the future of the substance, something in continuous development and implementation process. Aristotle distinguishes between:
- Material cause
- Formal cause (intrinsic)
- Efficient cause
- Final cause (extrinsic)
For Aristotle, to explain the cause of something is to do so in a scientific manner, i.e., everything has a source and can be explained by different causes. From experience, he admits the fact that natural things are in motion, distinguishing between substantial and accidental changes. The movement can only be explained by three principles:
- The subject or substance (individual), which endures through change
- The new form that acquires
- Deprivation in this way
3. Power-Event
This is the ultimate explanation of the evolution of the substance. Thus, in every being there is what it is—that being the act—and what can be “power” but that is not yet. Power is of two types:
- Activa (power to produce an effect on something else)
- Passive (or possibility of moving from one state to another and receive the action of an active power)
To refer to the act, Aristotle uses the term energy, the action through which something passes from possibility to improve it to the final finish. This finish is the entelechy, something accomplished, and perfect finish, carried to term. These indicate a corruption dynamics of being; the ultimate explanation of the universe is pure forms exist > substances.
4. Happiness
Aristotle’s ethics is a Eudaimonic ethics of happiness (like Socrates’ virtue). This is the way to achieve happiness is the art of “art of living well.” No need of any good but is based outside himself, to be perfect must be accompanied by all the virtues, the proper activity of man is known (theoretical contemplation). Happiness is to combine the power wisely, contemplation and external goods (Plato: life is based only in contemplation).
Virtue is a provision of the soul to behave in a certain way (under-knowledge) is acquired by exercise and the habit thus rejected the two previous doctrines, not born virtuous (Plato), nor sufficient education (Socrates). Virtue is a middle ground, the balance between two extremes, and can not be established in an abstract distinction between ethical virtues and dianoetic. Aristotelian ethics policy leads, the state is concerned with the education needed to be virtuous, His aim is the happiness and moral perfection of the citizens. Based in autarky.
5. Nature – Being Social
For Aristotle, nature is something inherent in the human being itself, i.e., something that belongs as such. Therefore, the nature of being human is to be social. We develop as people (seek happiness) coexisting with other people in society. This means that we cannot educate living alone (apart from society). The state aims at the happiness of its citizens based on autarchy (self) is the state first and then the individual human being. Just get educated living in society, justice and happiness, since this is going to order the estado.Para Aristotle, human beings differ from animals in that we have moral values, ie, we differentiate what is right from what is wrong, so we can live in society through the city.