人類的存在有何目的？一套解釋萬物的哲學理論？世界的本質為何？世界為何存在？亞里斯多德的百科全書式哲學 | 四因說 | 潛能理論 | 形上學 | 實體學 | 哲學爽歪歪EP6

Summary

本视频介绍了亚里士多德的哲学思想，包括他的四因说、潜能论和形而上学。亚里士多德认为，理解事物的本质需要关注其结果而非起源，他区分了自然物与人造物，并强调形式的重要性。他还提出了实体的概念，认为人类共享一个灵魂，类似于现代科学中的基因。这些理论对后世哲学产生了深远影响。

Takeaways

• 📚 亚里士多德是古希腊的哲学家，他的思想深刻影响了西方哲学的发展。
• 🌍 亚里士多德出生于马其顿，非雅典公民的身份使他能从更广泛的角度思考政治哲学。
• 🎓 他在柏拉图学院学习了20年，但并未继承学院领导位置，之后离开雅典，研究动物学和植物学。
• 👑 亚里士多德曾被马其顿的菲利普二世邀请成为亚历山大大帝的导师，实现了柏拉图理想中的哲学家统治或教育君主的理念。
• 🏫 回到雅典后，亚里士多德创立了自己的学院——吕克昂，这个词在法语中仍然存在，即高中（lycée）的词源。
• 🤔 亚里士多德认为人类与动物的区别在于，人类从孩童时期就有一种对世界的好奇心，这种好奇心是连接人类与世界的桥梁。
• 📝 他提出了“四因说”，即物质原因、形式原因、动力原因和目的原因，用以解释世界的变迁。
• 🌳 亚里士多德区分了自然物和人造物，认为自然物内含生长的力量，而人造物则需要人为赋予变化的原则。
• 🔧 亚里士多德强调形式原因的重要性，认为形式原因（即事物的逻辑）是事物的本质。
• 🏗️ 他的哲学影响了对社会分工的看法，认为形式的创造者（如建筑师）比执行者（如工人和奴隶）更重要。
• 🌿 亚里士多德的生物学观点和目的论影响了他对自然和人类活动的看法，认为所有事物的发展都是朝向某种目的。
• 📖 亚里士多德的形而上学是对自然现象背后不变事物的研究，他认为哲学家应该研究世界变化背后的最基本存在。

Q & A

亚里士多德是如何理解人类与动物的区别的？

亚里士多德认为人类与动物的区别在于人类从孩童时期就有一种好奇心，想要了解自然现象背后的原理。而动物，如猫狗，不会对自然的变化感到困惑。人类有一种与世界奇妙的关系，对世界好奇，而世界也为人类提供答案，仿佛人类与世界是为彼此而生的。

亚里士多德提出的“四因说”包括哪些内容？

亚里士多德的“四因说”包括：材料因（material cause），形式因（formal cause），动力因（efficient cause）和目的因（final cause）。这四种原因共同解释事物存在和变化的原因。

亚里士多德是如何解释人造物品和自然物品之间的区别的？

亚里士多德认为人造物品和自然物品之间的区别在于自然物品含有内在的生长力量，例如种子内在的力量使其成为植物。而人造物品必须由人赋予变化的原则，例如将木材制成床，这需要工匠先将床的形式存在于脑中，然后按照这个形式去加工木材。

亚里士多德对于自然界中事物发展的目的性是如何理解的？

亚里士多德认为自然界中的事物都是朝着某个特定目的发展的。例如，植物无论在地球上的哪个地方生长，都会朝向阳光。他认为这种目的性是自然赋予的，并且这种目的性是事物存在和发展的根本原因。

亚里士多德是如何看待理性在人类本性中的角色的？

亚里士多德认为人类的本性是理性和创造力的结合。人类天生具有理性，能够构想解决问题的一系列方案，并通过手的创造来实践自己的理性计划。因此，理性是人类实现自身潜能的关键。

亚里士多德的潜能理论如何影响了后来的哲学家？

亚里士多德的潜能理论对后来的哲学家，如黑格尔和马克思产生了深远影响。黑格尔发展了主奴辩证法来批评亚里士多德，而马克思则受到亚里士多德潜能理论的启发，认为资本主义生产的商品如果不能被劳动者购买，那么这些商品只是“潜在”的商品，其价值无法被“实现”，可能导致市场崩溃和经济危机。

亚里士多德是如何解决帕门尼德关于变化不可能的难题的？

亚里士多德通过区分潜在和实现来解决帕门尼德的难题。他认为变化是可能的，因为人类和其他生物从一开始就以潜在的形式存在。例如，一个人在成为音乐家之前就具有学习音乐的潜能，老师的作用是帮助学生实现这种潜能，而不是从无中创造音乐家。

亚里士多德的本体论（Metaphysics）的核心思想是什么？

亚里士多德的本体论探讨的是自然界变化背后的恒常本质。他认为哲学家应该研究世界变化背后的不变事物，因为这些事物是最根本的存在。他提出了“实体”（Ousia）的概念，指的是可以独立存在的事物，是事物的本质。

亚里士多德是如何区分实体和属性的？

亚里士多德区分实体和属性的方法是基于它们是否能独立存在。实体是可以独立存在的事物，而属性则不能。例如，一匹马是一个实体，它的颜色（属性）则不能独立存在，它总是依附于某个实体上。

亚里士多德对于社会分工的看法是什么？

亚里士多德认为社会分工中，建筑师比工人更重要，因为建筑师是形式的拥有者，而工人和奴隶只是负责处理材料。他认为知识比技术更高级，因为形式优于物质。

亚里士多德对于人类如何实现最佳生活的看法是什么？

亚里士多德认为人类实现最佳生活的方式是通过实践理性和道德美德。他认为通过理解和实践伦理学的原则，人们可以达到幸福和满足的生活状态。这将在下一个视频中进一步讨论。

亚里士多德对于人类灵魂的看法有何独特之处？

亚里士多德认为整个人类只有一个灵魂，人们共享这个灵魂。这个灵魂不是个体的灵魂，而是赋予人类形式和生命原则的共同实体。这与现代科学中的基因DNA概念相似，DNA的排列组合赋予生命不同的形式，而人类的logos（本质）也可以被理解为生命的发展方向。

Outlines

00:00

📚 亚里士多德的哲学与四因说

本段落介绍了亚里士多德的生平和哲学思想。亚里士多德是古希腊哲学家，曾在柏拉图学院学习20年，后因失望离开雅典，研究动物学和植物学。他被马其顿的菲利普二世邀请成为亚历山大大帝的导师。亚里士多德回到雅典后创立了自己的学院——吕克昂学院。他提出了人类与动物的区别在于人类对世界的好奇心，以及他的四因说，包括物质原因、形式原因、动因和目的原因。亚里士多德认为，所有事物的存在都是这四种原因的结合，并且强调形式原因是最重要的，因为它体现了事物的本质。

05:01

🌿 形式与物质的关系

这一段落探讨了形式和物质的关系。亚里士多德认为，形式比物质更重要，因为物质会生灭，而形式可以是永恒的。他用海豚和人类的例子来说明，形式只能通过其固有的数据实现，人类无法通过手术变成海豚。亚里士多德还提出了形式是变化的驱动力，以及他的因果观念，认为变化是潜能到实现的过程。他还讨论了现代科学对因果关系的理解，以及亚里士多德如何通过潜能和实现的概念来解释变化的可能性。

10:02

🤔 人的理性与自然

本段讨论了人的理性和创造力是人的本性。亚里士多德认为，人天生具有理性，能够构思解决问题的方案，并通过双手实践自己的理性计划。他强调，人的本性是理性和实践理性的双手。亚里士多德还提出了自然赋予人类的手与理性相匹配的观点，因为手是行使人类理性能力的关键。此外，他还讨论了资本主义的非理性，以及如何根据亚里士多德的哲学来构建一个理性的社会。

15:04

🌟 亚里士多德与柏拉图的哲学差异

这一部分阐述了亚里士多德与他的老师柏拉图在哲学上的根本差异。柏拉图认为理念是永恒存在的世界，而亚里士多德则认为理念应该逐渐发展和实现。亚里士多德提出了潜能理论，影响了后来的黑格尔和马克思的哲学。他还讨论了资本主义的矛盾，以及如何通过实现潜能来克服这些矛盾。此外，亚里士多德的形而上学思想，即寻找变化背后不变的真实，也在这部分进行了探讨。

20:05

🏛️ 亚里士多德的形而上学与实体观

本段落深入探讨了亚里士多德的形而上学和实体观。亚里士多德认为，哲学家应该研究世界变化背后的不变事物，因为它们是最基本存在。他区分了依赖性存在和独立存在的事物，称独立存在的事物为“实体”。他还探讨了实体与人类语言的对应关系，以及这种关系对西方哲学历史的影响。亚里士多德晚年开始放弃将有机体视为主要实体，转而认为人类的灵魂是实体，这与现代科学中的基因DNA代码有相似之处。

25:06

🎓 亚里士多德的伦理学与人性观

这部分简要介绍了亚里士多德的伦理学和人性观。亚里士多德的哲学不仅包括了对自然哲学和形而上学的探讨，还包括了对人类如何生活得最好的思考。他的伦理学和对人性的看法将在下一集中详细讨论。

Keywords

💡哲学

哲学是研究普遍和基本问题的学科，如存在、知识、价值、理由、心灵和语言等。在视频中，哲学是探讨亚里士多德思想的基础，通过对其哲学理论的介绍，展示了他对后世的深远影响。

💡亚里士多德

亚里士多德是古希腊的哲学家和科学家，以其广泛的著作和对西方哲学的深远影响而闻名。在视频中，亚里士多德被介绍为柏拉图的学生，他的哲学思想在很多方面与柏拉图有所不同，特别是在实质理论和潜能理论方面。

💡四因说

四因说是亚里士多德提出的解释事物存在和变化的四个原因或原理，包括物质原因、形式原因、动力原因和目的原因。这一理论是他哲学体系中的核心概念之一，用于解释事物的本质和变化。

💡潜能

潜能是指事物内在的可能性或能力，能够实现某种状态或活动。亚里士多德认为，潜能是事物从潜在状态转变为实现状态的过程。这一概念在他的形而上学和自然哲学中占有重要地位。

💡形而上学

形而上学是哲学的一个分支，研究最基本的存在问题和宇宙的本质。亚里士多德的形而上学探讨了事物的实质、原因和最终目的，以及不变的存在背后的原则。

💡实体

在亚里士多德的哲学中，实体是指能够独立存在的事物，是事物的本质和存在的基石。他区分了实体和属性，认为实体是可以独立存在的，而属性则依附于实体。

💡自然哲学

自然哲学是研究自然界和自然现象的哲学分支，亚里士多德的自然哲学探讨了自然界的秩序、运动和变化，以及生物的生长和繁殖。

💡目的论

目的论是一种认为自然界和宇宙中的事物都有目的或目标的哲学观点。亚里士多德的目的论认为，事物的发展和变化都是为了实现某种预定的目的或功能。

💡逻辑

逻辑是研究有效推理的规则和技巧的学科。亚里士多德被认为是西方逻辑学的奠基人，他提出了三段论等逻辑系统，对后来的逻辑学和哲学产生了深远影响。

💡伦理学

伦理学是哲学的一个分支，研究道德行为和价值的本质。亚里士多德的伦理学强调德性和幸福，认为通过实践德性，人可以实现其最高善，即幸福。

💡政治哲学

政治哲学是研究政治权力、政府、公正和法律等概念的哲学分支。亚里士多德的政治哲学探讨了最佳政体和公民的德性，认为政治的目的是实现公共利益和公民的幸福。

Highlights

Aristotle是古希腊的哲学家，他的哲学思想深刻影响了西方哲学的发展。

Aristotle出生于马其顿，非雅典公民的身份让他能从更中立的角度思考政治哲学。

Aristotle在柏拉图学院学习了20年，但并未继承学院的领导位置，这使他离开雅典，转向对动物学和植物学的研究。

Aristotle曾担任亚历山大大帝的导师，教授哲学，这体现了柏拉图关于哲学家统治或教授哲学的理想。

Aristotle在自己的学院Lyceum中教授哲学，该词在法语中仍以lycée的形式存在，代表高中。

Aristotle认为人类与动物的区别在于，人类从童年时期就有一种对世界的好奇心。

Aristotle提出了“四因说”，用以解释世界上所有的变化，包括物质原因、形式原因、动因和目的原因。

Aristotle强调形式原因的重要性，认为它是事物的本质，这一点与中国古代的“道”有相似之处。

Aristotle的潜能理论区分了潜在和实现，强调变化是潜能到实现的过程，这一点对后来的黑格尔和马克思哲学产生了影响。

Aristotle的物理学和形而上学思想，挑战了当时古希腊人对自然现象的神话解释，推动了科学思维的发展。

Aristotle认为实体（Ousia）是存在的根本，它们是独立存在且不依赖于其他事物的。

Aristotle的哲学思想对西方的逻辑学和语言哲学产生了深远的影响，他认为语言的结构反映了世界的构造。

Aristotle在后期的哲学思考中，开始从生物学的实体转向对人类灵魂的探讨，认为灵魂是人类的本质。

Aristotle的形而上学探讨了变化背后的不变本质，即事物的最终原因或目的。

Aristotle的伦理学和人性观点将在下一集中介绍，探讨如何过上最佳的生活。

Aristotle的哲学思想对当代社会仍有重要启示，特别是在理解事物的本质和发展过程方面。

Aristotle的哲学贡献不仅在于理论的创新，还包括对当时社会现象的深刻洞察和批判。

Transcripts

Philosophy With SuperY

Each episode introduces you to a philosophical thinker

The series finally restarted

Last episode we introduced Plato

So today I'm going to introduce you to Plato's students

Aristotle

The Encyclopedic Philosophers of Ancient Greece

Aristotle was a Macedonian born in the Greek colonies

not from athens

this point is very important

Because he didn't actually get the citizenship of Athens

This allowed him to think about political philosophy from a Gentile perspective

He went to Plato's Academy of Athens at the age of 17 to study for 20 years

after plato's death

The Academy of Athens was taken over by Plato's nephew Speusippus

Aristotle did not inherit the head

So disappointed to leave Athens

Go to various islands to study zoology and botany

at the age of 40

Invited by King Philip II of Macedon to be a tutor

Teaching Alexander the Great in Philosophy

This allowed Aristotle to realize Plato's ideal

Plato believes that to build an ideal country

Let the philosopher be the emperor

Or teach the emperor philosophy

Later Aristotle returned to Athens

Founded his own academy Lyceum

This word still exists in French today.

French high school is called lycée

So what kind of philosophy did Aristotle teach in the academy?

aristotle thought

The difference between humans and animals is that

Human children have a curious desire from childhood

Your dogs and cats won't be confused by changes in nature

But humans want to know the principles behind natural phenomena

And when man studies everything

Discovered that there is indeed a set of truths behind the world for human beings to understand

So man has a wonderful relationship with the world

curious about the world

And the world also provides answers to human beings

As if man and the world were born for each other

The desire to be curious is the bridge that connects human beings with the world

When will people's curiosity be stimulated?

as he observed changes in nature

For example the ancient Greeks were curious

Why do you plant a tree in the ground and it grows a tree

But you put a bed in the ground and it doesn't grow a bed

Obviously the bed is also made of wood.

This means that there is a difference between natural objects and man-made objects

flora and fauna in nature

principle of change

From a seed to a plant there is inherent power to grow

The principle of movement of this organism

defined by Aristotle as nature

So we can say that being a man is natural for little boys

But man-made things must be endowed by man with the principle of change

For example one can turn wood into a bed

But how did wood become a bed?

Of course, the craftsman has the form of the bed in mind first and then transforms the wood

Therefore, the principle of change of man-made

form in the human brain

On the basis of this division

Aristotle is about to start explaining all the changes in the world

He thinks it can all be answered with a set of theories

called "Four Reasons"

When our curiosity is piqued to ask why

According to Aristotle, there are 4 ways to answer

For example we ask why the house exists

For a house to exist, there must be building materials

Aristotle called "material cause"

But building materials don't automatically turn into houses

Must first have the blueprint form of the house, the interior design

This is called "formal cause"

But if you have building materials and forms, you won’t be able to build a house by yourself.

You also need architects, craftsmen

These people provide the motivation so they are called "motivators"

But the house was built and there was still no explanation: why do we have this house?

So there needs to be a "purpose cause"

Explain the purpose of the house

Aristotle believes that all things come into existence simultaneously with these four causes

Indispensable

So to understand how the world works

we have to clarify when we talk about the reason

Which of these four reasons are you talking about?

After the scientific revolution in the 17th century

Western science tries to explain everything with material cause

Believes that everything is made of atoms

Do another experiment to break atoms down into smaller elementary particles

think that this grasps the reason of the composition of things

But for Aristotle

Material causes alone are not enough to explain the world

because if everything could be reduced to atoms

Then why do some atoms develop into animal flesh and organs

Some atoms become human flesh, organs

There must be a force that organizes the atoms into different forms

This leads to the difference in the life structure of animals and humans

This force is the cause of form

Aristotle believed that the formal cause is the most important of the four causes

because it embodies the essence of a thing

Ancient Greek called logos

Logos can be translated into words and principles

In fact, it is somewhat similar to the Chinese "reason"

Because in Chinese, "Tao" also means to speak

The formal cause is the logos of a thing

If it does not develop according to the logos of a thing

the thing would not be itself

For example, the logos of pasta are derived from the chef's knowledge

recorded in the recipe

When the chef prepares the ingredients, only the ingredients cause

It is also necessary to give these ingredients an order according to the recipe

Turn them into pasta form

If you didn't follow the recipe step by step

What you end up with can turn out to be like shit

Of course the form also depends on the material

For example, the form of a dolphin cannot be realized with human material

An episode of South Park

It's just someone having surgery to turn themselves into a dolphin

All I do is change my shape to look like I'm inside

Of course it failed

Because the form of the dolphin can only be realized by the data of the dolphin

Man cannot become a dolphin

But form is still more important than substance

Because matter is born and dies

but form can be eternal

no individual can be immortal

every generation dies

But there's one thing that goes on and on

is the form of species

Humans have survived for tens of thousands of years and no one can survive

Human matter has been experiencing death

But the human form remained

So what is really immortal is the form

Aristotle thought this was why plants and animals reproduce

Because we want to pass on the form to the next generation

emphasis on form

Also influenced Aristotle's views on the division of labor in society

Aristotle believes that architects are more important

Construction workers, slaves are secondary

because the architect is a man of form

But workers and slaves are only responsible for processing data

What architects learn is not steel and concrete but the form and structure of buildings

It is also from Aristotle

The division of disciplines in the West began to have high and low points

Knowledge is more advanced than technology

Because form is superior to matter

At the same time, the form not only reflects the logos of one thing

It also drives the organism to develop into itself

Like a seed trying to grow into a big tree

only when it matures into a tree

it really shows the form of the species

so it can be said

The form is also the cause of the change

the driving force

Here we need to clarify a concept

Changes as we moderns understand

In fact, it has been influenced by the philosopher David Hume

we all thought

Things change because of an event that happened before

So an event is the source of the motivation

There is a problem with this view of causality:

so many events in history

How do you trace which is the cause and effect?

aristotle thinks wrong

There is only one event in the world

is change

the real problem is

What is the purpose of this change

For example, the form of a house should be able to achieve

There must be the architect as the moving cause and the brick as the material cause

But we can imagine a situation where

Architects have blueprints in mind but never realize them

Bricks never came in handy

In this case Aristotle would say

Both architects and bricks are not realizing their potential

And the so-called change is the realization of potential

when architects become architects building houses

When bricks become bricks taken to build houses

These two things are actually the same thing

It is the form of the house that changes from potential to realization

so not a lot of events

There is only one event happening here

It is realized in the form of a house

So more precisely

The principle of dynamic cause is still formal cause

only through the intermediary

For example, when a teacher teaches students, the teacher is the motivation

The knowledge that the teacher possesses is the form

The student's soul is like the material

Teachers use knowledge to transform students' souls

So the focus of education is not on the teacher

It is the knowledge that students absorb

Finally, there is a very important final cause (telos)

Aristotle believes that the final cause will determine the development of form

To understand the purpose of a thing's existence

can be studied in its fullest and most complete form

you can see why you had to go through different stages before

For example, why is the structural foundation of the house made of cement and the roof made of wood?

This cannot be answered with material

It's not because the cement is heavier so it's on the bottom, and the wood is lighter so it's on the top

but because people are going to live in houses

there must be a secure foundation

Therefore, the purpose of making people live safely determines the form of the house

Aristotle believed that more than man-made objects

purposeful cause

The existence of all things in nature develops towards a certain purpose

The most intuitive look

Plants grow in the same direction no matter where on earth

is where the sun shines

? ? ?

Or the human species has a feature that other primates don't have

That is, the human thumb can easily touch the other fingers

Make tools easy to master

These are called "opposable thumbs"

here comes the problem

how to explain this particular form of human

Contemporary biologists explain from an evolutionary perspective

think it's because primate hands need to adapt to climbing trees

The human hand evolved to create tools and transform the living environment

But Aristotle didn't teach evolution

teleology

Nature endows human beings with hands to match human rationality

Because the hand is the key to exercising the human capacity for reason

People are born with rationality and can conceive a set of solutions to problems

Then practice your own rational plan by making tools with your hands

So human nature is the hands of rationality and creativity

You won't see fish, birds grow arms

because they are irrational

Of course you don't need a pair of hands

but people are rational

If nature itself is also rational

it should give human hands

We can imagine an irrational nature

It endows humans with reason but does not give humans hands to realize their own ideas

Such a person is crippled

incapable of practicing one's own humanity

This world is irrational

Because he created two contradictory things

that's why

Marx said capitalism is irrational

Because capitalism on the one hand wants to maximize efficiency

But on the other hand, it deprives laborers of their means of production

so that labor cannot really achieve maximum efficiency

Marx on this

Influenced by Aristotle

think that to create a rational society

In order to be in line with rational human nature

And for Aristotle

The complete human form must have the hands of reason and practical reason

we can conversely think

if a scientist

Children who spend their lives studying only humans

He didn't know that children can become adults with rational abilities

Thought humans were forever in child form

Then the scientist's definition of human nature must be incorrect.

because he missed the end cause

One must look at a fully developed human to truly find the definition of a human being

Aristotle's purpose

had an important impact on the history of philosophy

is to use results to explain the essence of things

instead of origin

The truth is not hidden in the origin but in the result

So Hegel said: The essence of philosophy is to look back

The whole of human history is like the process of changing from a child to an adult

The task of philosophy is to answer

What is the significance of the development of human beings in the past thousands of years to today

But contemporary science has forgotten the end cause

Stop believing that natural development has a purpose

Think that everything is just evolution to adapt to the environment

The purpose of many human activities in today's society is even distorted

Why do chefs cook?

It should be for people to eat and satisfy

Why do architects build houses?

It should be for people to live comfortably

Why do teachers teach?

It should be to enable students to gain more knowledge

But in contemporary capitalist society

Chefs don't cook to satisfy people

but to make more money

So cutting corners in the food causes food safety problems

Builders build houses not for people to live in but for real estate speculation

So a bunch of houses were built and they turned out to be empty

Teachers do not teach to satisfy students' thirst for knowledge

It is to help cram schools and schools to fight for the enrollment rate

We will discover many problems in contemporary society

In fact, it's all because of forgetting the purpose.

After putting forward the theory of four causes

Now Aristotle has another challenge

ancient greeks were confused

Why we eat bread and grow human flesh

How can human flesh come from something that is not human flesh?

The philosophy behind this is

How is change possible?

This conundrum actually has a more powerful formulation

from the philosopher parmenides

He said change is impossible

Because a thing needs to exist, it needs a horse to create something out of nothing, and it needs a horse to create something out of something

if the first case

It started with nothing

then it is impossible to create something out of nothing

if the second case

something existed in the beginning

Then there is no problem generated

So the changes seen in daily life are all illusions

How did Aristotle solve Parmenides' puzzle?

He said suppose there is a person who doesn't understand music

After learning music theory from the teacher, I understand music theory

Is this something out of nothing?

wrong

Even people who don't understand music have the potential to learn music

This potential has always been there

It's just that you can't observe it

A teacher does not create a person who understands music out of nothing

It's about realizing the potential of music out of this person.

What does not appear to exist on the surface actually exists in the form of potential

same

All human beings begin as potentialities

father provides sperm

mother offers womb

give birth to your embryo

But you're not legally alone

in the mother's belly

How could a person who did not exist suddenly become a person?

Because man slowly develops into an embryo in a latent way

Rerealize as a human

change is possible

because the human form already existed before the change took place

Aristotle made this potential/realized distinction very useful

such as in the workplace

The company is not optimistic about you and thinks you are incompetent

but you are really incapable

It still has potential, but no chance of realizing it.

According to Aristotle

The environment must also provide opportunities, incentives to realize the potential of employees

Just like the teacher's guidance is needed, the potential of the students will be stimulated

It takes an architect to power it so wood becomes a house

here it shows

Aristotle was very different from his teacher Plato

Plato believes that the ideal is the pre-existing eternal world

always there

But Aristotle thought

The rationale should be gradually developed and realized

And this change doesn't happen automatically

A facilitator is needed to initiate the change

potential theory

Later, it influenced the philosophy of Hegel and Marx

Marx said

If a railroad track is built, but no trains run

that's at best a potential railroad track

without realizing its real function

Likewise, capitalism produces a bunch of goods

But give laborers low wages so that they can't afford goods

Many items cannot be sold

Just a "potential" commodity

In this way, the value of the commodity cannot be "realized"

capital will not be able to make a profit

May eventually lead to market crash, economic crisis

This is the self-contradiction of capitalism

Similarly, Taiwanese builders built a bunch of houses

but no one can afford it

The house should be used to live in, this is the "nature" of the house

But these empty houses are not living up to their potential

So Marx would say that capitalism violates nature

another philosopher hegel

developed the master-slave dialectic to criticize Aristotle

in ancient greek society

Philosophers are slave masters

they don't need to spend time working

Free time to conceive philosophy and realize human rationality

Aristotle thought

Mathematics originated in Egypt

because the ancient Egyptian priests had leisure time

Slave masters lived a better life

satisfies human curiosity

But Hegel says just the opposite

The master does not need to work, the potentialities in the soul are forever blocked

Because they only talk on paper

Tell everyone the philosophy of potential

This is what Aristotle was doing

The master only has one mouth

by contrast

because slaves are working

Instead, they can realize the potential in their souls

In the process of building a house, create the ideal shape of the house

So it looks like the master is enslaving the slave

But there are no slaves, masters are nothing

This is Haig's master-slave dialectic

Inspiration is derived from Aristotle's philosophy of potential

Finally we come to the hardest part of Aristotle's philosophy: Metaphysics

what is metaphysics

Metaphysics is the science after mythology and science

When the ancient Greeks studied natural phenomena

Like to ask what is the reason for the change

For example, what is the cause of thunder

The interpretation of the Age of Mythology is:

It thunders because Zeus is angry

so different natural phenomena

Can be explained by different Olympian gods

But after the first philosophers appeared

Begin to discover the laws of nature

Thunder is always accompanied by lightning

So come up with a theory

Thunder and lightning are the result of clouds rubbing against each other and catching fire in the atmosphere

People no longer use gods to explain change

Instead, a simple principle is used to explain the change

This is the beginning of scientific thinking

Use "one" to explain "many"

Instead of using "many" to explain "many"

But Aristotle was still not satisfied

If thunder is just a change of cloud

clouds from water molecules

It turns into water after it rains

The entire water cycle is constantly changing.

So what is the constant behind it?

This question is the starting point of metaphysics

What is the real constant behind the changes in the experience world?

Because "Metaphysics" is the next book after "Physics"

So it's called Metaphysics

meaning after physics

aristotle thought

Philosophers must study the unchanging things behind the world's changes

Because they are the most fundamental existence

That is to say, existence is hierarchical

some things don't exist independently

like colors, numbers, shapes

you can say white exists

But white can only exist as the color of something

You won't see white floating in the air alone

They are not the object of study of metaphysics

This point is very important

Because this is the big difference between Aristotle and Plato

Plato said

Everything in the experiential world is unreal

The perfect archetype, whiteness, and justice exist only in the realm of ideals

And only the soul can know those ideals

now aristotle says no

only one world exists

is nature

The reason why Plato mistakenly believed that a rational world exists

It is because everything in nature has length, width, height, and shape.

Mathematicians can abstract them into geometric figures

But you abstract the watermelon into a circle

This circle actually exists only in your mind

Plato's mistake was that

mistakenly think that something abstracted in the mind

is derived from an extrasensory rational world

In fact they are just manifestations of nature

A circle simply cannot stand on its own

A circle is always the shape of something real

Likewise, all good values ​​do not exist independently in the world of ideals

You must have seen courage, justice, goodness in someone

You don't see these values ​​standing alone, floating in the air

so if you think

There is an absolute, one-size-fits-all concept of justice

then you are a platonist

but if you think

The justice we see is an example of it being done in the world

Every society is different

So justice must be set by the political community

then you are an aristotelian

Aristotle's theory also solved a problem that Plato couldn't

According to Plato there are two worlds

The natural world is not perfect, but the rational world is perfect

how do you explain

Mathematical knowledge can be applied to the imperfect nature

Aristotle's system has only one nature

won't have this problem

In fact, there are still debates between these two factions in the scientific community today.

Should science be based on mathematics or empirical evidence?

If you think truth is in nature, it can be observed

Then you are Aristotelian

More emphasis on scientific experiments

but if you think the truth should be in the math formula

Then you are a Platonist, and you pay more attention to theoretical deduction

for aristotle

The Ideas of Plato

are always attached to something

So their rank is relatively low and secondary

The really important existence must be self-existence

Exist without being dependent on anything else

Aristotle called these things "substances" (Ousia)

Entity is the constant change of various properties, behind the unchanging thing

Because it remains the same, it can be regarded as the essence of a thing

Early Aristotle believed that all organisms are substances

This makes his metaphysics a bit like a world of models

Entity is like the base of the model

many properties attached to the model

For example, a horse is an entity that exists independently

Color is the existence attached to the horse

No matter how the attributes of a horse change

What remains unchanged is that he is a horse

Aristotle discovered

This level of existence has a corresponding relationship with human language

An entity that exists independently and is the subject of a sentence

Properties that cannot exist independently are all descriptors of one sentence

So grammatically we can say "the horse is white"

But nobody says "white is a horse"

This sentence itself does not make sense

in other words

The logic of thought is also the logic of the world

Because the world is made up of entities and properties

So human beings are limited to think like this

The language invented by humans naturally reflects the structure of the world

This has a great impact on the history of Western philosophy

Western metaphysics has held for two thousand years that

Understand the category of language to understand the structure of the world

And this is what postmodernism in the 20th century wants to challenge

Do you think language can accurately reproduce reality

It's possible that this is just human fantasy

In the later years of Aristotle

He began to abandon the organism as the primary entity

because there's a big problem here

Think about what is the essence of your person?

Is it your body?

But your body cells are metabolizing every day

So the material of the body cannot define who you are

And your physical body continues after you die

You wouldn't say that that corpse was your essence, would you?

So matter would not be a human entity

Could it be the form?

For example Socrates was the wisest man in Athens

This form of wisdom may be the key to defining Socrates

But if you use form to define people, there will be a problem

If we say that Socrates is the embodiment of wisdom

If one day there is a person with the same wisdom

Then there are two Socrates in the world

or imagine you're in a relationship

certain characteristics of someone you fall in love with

But after a few years of dating those traits are gone

Is this person still the same person?

if not

You're just cheating on someone else

So Aristotle discovered

The definition of individuality cannot be grasped

When we want to define the essence of man

can only grasp the form of the human species

Think about it, everyone will die someday

No one who ever existed on earth is now

So they must not be the most fundamental existence in this world

People can exist because the previous generation gave birth to them

The previous generation is because of the previous generation

Push back infinitely

will find

Each generation of human beings cannot survive on its own

are not entities

The definition of an entity is something that can exist on its own

So what exactly is the human entity?

in the process of human reproduction

something that really passed on

In fact, it is the form of the human species.

All who are born depend on this form

Otherwise you can't be called a human

What is this species form?

Aristotle said it was the soul of man

He's not talking about the Christian concept of the soul.

Not going to heaven or hell after death

not individual soul

aristotle thought

The entire human species has only one soul

People all over the world actually share one soul

This human soul is in different flesh and blood

Grow out the life principle of you and me

This principle governs human beings

From baby to adult

developed a full human form

this sounds like a mystery

If understood in the language of modern science

This soul that gives the human species form

In fact, it is similar to the gene DNA code mentioned today.

Different permutations and combinations of DNA endow life with different forms

Humans share 99% of our genes with chimpanzees

The 1% difference makes the life principle of human beings and chimpanzees different

The logos (essence) of life development can also be translated into words in ancient Greek

And DNA is actually a speech

This language determines the reason for the growth of a species

The concept of the entity

There will be more wonderful arguments in the history of philosophy in the future

history of philosophy

You must understand Aristotle's concept of substance

in this episode

We introduce Aristotle's theory of four causes

Potential Theory, Metaphysics, Entity

Let's continue talking in the next episode

Aristotle's Ethics and Views of Human Nature

How else can someone live their best life?