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Advantages
- The Four Causes are derived from Aristotle's reflections on his studies of the natural world, may would agree that they are reliable, including many scientists.
- They can be applied to things which already exist, the material cause can be rested and confirmed e.g. a chair can be proved to be made from wood. The formal cause can also be tested as the structure of something is easy to be seen.
- The theory doesn't overrule any theories such as God or the Big Bang, so it doesn't have much opposition.
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Disadvantages
- The four causes highly rely on experience. Plato argued that experience was unreliable as it changes from person to person - we cannot be sure that chairs, for example, look the same to everybody.
- Aristotle doesn't have concrete evidence that the material world is the source of knowledge - many turn to religion and faith as a source of truth.
- If things happen by chance or luck, they don't fit into any of the four categories.
- Emotions have no material or formal cause, their efficient and final causes can be questioned.
- Existentialists have no purpose or meaning other than what we prescribe.
- Things may have a particular purpose but people may use it for a different purpose e.g. a cricket bats purpose is to hit a ball, but people may use it for other reasons i.e. to hit someone.
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