[From Bill Powers (961003.0700 MDT)]
Bob Franza (961003) --
Works of Aristotle, W.D.Ross [editor of translation], Clarendon Press,
Oxford, 2nd edition, 1928.
There's a radical notion -- cite the source. Thanks!
It's good to see the source because, among other things, one sees how much
room for ambiguity there is as people try to untangle the language structure
(I suppose that in the original Greek it's all clearer, not that the
original Greek would do me any good).
The Fourth Cause is the clearest: that for the sake of which we act. No
mistaking the reference condition and control system lurking behind the
scenes. The Third is also clear: "the source of the movement", or as we
would say now, the input of which the result is the output. Number Two is
pretty fuzzy, but I think we could translate it into "the form of the
function connecting input to output." Number One is beyond me: the materials
of which something is made don't seem to me to cause anything in particular
to be made.
Of course as the citation shows us, Artistotle wasn't trying to tell us what
"cause" really is: "These, then, are practically all the senses in which
causes are spoken of" is what he says. By laying out these quite different
senses of the term, Artistotle shows that "cause" doesn't have a single
meaning, but four distinct meanings with nothing in common.
Got any comments on "control systems in the DNA", Bob?
Best,
Bill P.