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I was once asked by a parent what I thought the most important things any students, at any age, needed to learn. I think I was expected to give the usual noble but vague statements about finding themselves, or preparing them for the journey of life, or helping them to be successful, but I immediately said that there were two sets of four principles I would like them to learn. This brought on a double-take.
The poor fellow's jaw dropped when I simply listed them.
"I'm convinced that a person who truly understands the Four Causes can solve any intellectual problem, and that a person who truly understands the Four Cardinal Virtues can solve any moral problem. He is now set up to live."
I really wasn't trying to be facetious, and I meant it from the bottom of my heart. What else could really matter than both thinking rightly and living rightly?
The Four Causes arise in the Aristotelian, or Peripatetic, tradition, but they are in many ways a culmination of all Ancient thought. If I ask the question "why" something is the way it is, I need to consider four different aspects.
The efficient cause asks where something came from, or what brought it about. It's about agency.
The material cause asks what something is made of, what the parts or components of something are. It's about the building blocks.
The formal cause asks what something is in its identity, how all those parts are put together. It's about the structure.
The final cause asks where something is going, the end for which it is ordered. It's about the purpose.
Think of a house. The efficient causes are the architect and the builders. The material causes are the lumber, cement, plaster, pipes, or wiring. The formal cause is the blueprints and the way all the materials are put together. The final cause is to give someone a place to live.
Notice how often we confuse these different aspects of causality in life.
"He made me do it!" No, he pushed your buttons, but you made a choice. He was the material cause, but your were your own efficient cause.
"I'm not guilty of stealing, because I did it to pay my bills!" Good grief. What you did, the formal cause, isn't justified in this case because of the purpose you did it for, the final cause.
I can only make sense of my world if I can unravel why it works the way it does, and I believe that the Four Causes, and their proper use, are the most important tools we have to do so.
The Four Cardinal Virtues originate from the Platonic, or Academic, tradition, but once again, they are in many ways a culmination of all Ancient thought. How should I live my life? What should guide my choices? Look at what makes us human beings, and we will see what aspects of our nature we need to perfect.
I am a being ruled by a mind. The ability to distinguish true from false, good from bad, is the virtue of prudence.
I am a being with passions and desires. The ability to control, order, and direct my passions is the virtue of temperance.
I am a being of drive and aggression. The ability to control, order, and direct my aggression is the virtue of fortitude.
I am a being who lives with others. The ability to respect both myself and others, to give each their deserved rights and dignity, is the virtue of justice.
A machine is functioning properly when all the parts are working together in harmony. Now a man is hardly a machine, because he can think and decide, but he too must have all his parts working together in harmony, through his own thought and choice. Consider the aspect of life that must be improved, and work upon that specific power of the soul.
By all means, express these principles using the terms of a different school, or the values of a different culture. Many philosophers, and narrow or smug people in general, like to miss the forest for the trees, mainly because they just like arguing and looking important. There's a good reason the Golden Rule is universal, and there's a good reason the Four Causes and the Four Cardinal Virtues are universal as well. They are hardwired by Nature.
Whenever I am asked to teach anyone anything, from changing a light bulb to writing a term paper, from working at a job to dealing with the deepest worries of life, I return back to these ideals, the only two-by-four you'll ever need.
Written in 4/2001
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