Brewer's: Causes

Aristotelian causes are these four: (1) The Efficient Cause. That which immediately produces the effect. (2) The Material Cause. The matter on which (1) works.

(3) The Formal Cause. The Essence or “Form” (= group of attributes) introduced into the matter by the

efficient cause. (4) The Final or Ultimate Cause. The purpose or end for which the thing exists or the causal change takes place. But God is called the ultimate Final Cause, since, according to Aristotle, all things tend, so far as they can, to realise some Divine attribute.

God is also called The First Cause, or the Cause Causeless, beyond which even imagination cannot go.

Related Content Allusions Foreign Words and Phrases Latin and Greek Word Elements Names: Their Origins and Meanings Old Testament Names Mythology Ancient Greek Literature & Mythology The Bible (King James version) The Koran (translation by J. M. Rodwell) Shakespeare's Plays Tales from Shakespeare (Charles and Mary Lamb) Frequently Misspelled Words Frequently Mispronounced Words Easily Confused Words Writing & Language