Aristotles Four Causes - Literature review Example

Four Causes by Aristotle Student’s Name Grade course Tutor’s Name 3rd December, 2011. Four Causes by Aristotle This paper analyzes Aristotle’s four principles that he calls the causes. The study is bases on James Hillman (2007) arguments in his book ‘kinds of power’. To James there are four kinds of reason that drive people to do certain things, and he calls them causes which he categorizes into four groups. James bases his work on Aristotle research on human behavior where he tries to answer the question, why? Using the four types of causes, which are, (i) formal cause, which is the, idea or the key drive that govern an event. (ii) The final cause, which is the, purpose an event is directed to or the rationale an event is carried out. (iii) Material cause, which is the, input directed towards realizing the event. (iv) Efficient cause, which is the, driving motion and instigator of change according to the renown writer Aristotle. There will be an analysis in the course of the study to show their effectiveness in today’s world. According to Aristotle (2005) efficiency is the first cause which motivates people into carrying out an activity; therefore, it should be emphasized by all companies (Hillman, 2007). The proposal involves the topic to be discussed throughout the paper which focuses on production of a mobile phone. The study identifies the different causes and analyzes them in accordance with the mobile phone production industry. There is a need to identify why companies produces the phones (formal cause). The intended motive of the phone production (final cause) is also, crucial in this study. The raw materials used in phone production are also crucial in this paper (material cause). The level of improvement in the mobile phone production industry is also, vital in this study (efficient cause). The paper provides extensive research and explanation on how efficient the mobile phones. This study will argue that the mobile phone producers’ intention is not to provide communication to the world population, but they have their motives, which keep them, in the business. According to this study the phone users and employees of the company stand to lose in the whole scenario because the production companies are the sole beneficially in the business. There are limitations in the study, which include the gains of the company can not be fully identified due to their secrecy. This means the information available to the community is limited and harmless. Another limitation to the study is engineering part of the phone, where information on all the raw materials of a phone is not available, and the method followed in phones production is not disclosed by the company’s technicians. The study also relates James and Aristotle’s work with the current world of business. It analyzes whether efficiency according to Aristotle is achieved so as to put forward the necessary changes in the phone production. To Aristotle efficiency is not just accomplishing a task, but how fair the outcome is to all the parties involved. The study’s main aim is to emphasize on James and Aristotle meaning of efficiency and fairness where people get their rightful shares and in the right way, but not led by greed (Hillman, 2007). The different causes that govern the mobile phone production industry in relation to James’s identified causes are as follows. The efficient cause in the study is the production company Nokia a company which produces phones with different features from those of other companies such as internet services, camera, television and radio, navigators to give direction and security settings which ensure the phones are safe with their owners all these features provide fulfillment to the company’s customers. Another contributor to efficiency is wide spread sub-branches of the Nokia company that ensure their customers around the world get their desired products whenever they want. The material cause of a phone is the raw materials used or all the inputs that ensure the phone is in superb working condition. This are inputs such as plastics and metals which act as casings, the micro chips like those found in mobile phones, the screens among others which are only known to the producers. The formal cause in the phone industry is a phone’s mother board, the mouth and the ear piece which ensures communication is clear. The final cause of a phone is the phone itself meant for communication in different ways such as making calls, sending messages, taking snaps, internet services among others as desired by the phone owners. In relation to James’s and Aristotle’s work, the phone producing companies engage in the phone production not because they want to provide communication, but because of the money gains it provides to the companies. The company’s efforts are not motivated by efficiency, but by the money gains to the companies (Hillman, 2007). The four causes are fundamental in understanding change, and why change is necessary in today’s world of commerce. According to Aristotle there are four causes to realizing more power, which are efficient causes, final causes, material causes and formal cause. The functionability of each of the four causes differs from that of other. The four causes can of much help to today’s economy to achieving efficiency or realizing their expected outcome. According to Aristotle (2005) the companies should not make efficient cause their primary objective. He proposes that they should work towards implementing all the four causes which are more beneficial than implementation of only one. The companies should implement the four causes which will bring a lot of change in the industry as a whole. The change advocated by Aristotle is instrumental in ensuring efficiency and fairness in the world of commerce. The change is necessary to ensure the four causes does not work individually, but they should be interlinked with each other. In the phone production industry, the efficient cause, which is phone, production acts as a disguise to many companies objectives which are profit maximization and cost minimization this means a company produces a phone for the gains it is earning in selling the phone to the customers. The change is needed to ensure all those who take part in the phone production get their rightful share of the total earnings. In the phone industry, the engineers and technicians engage in the bottom line thinking which is all about producing efficient and quality phones. The engineers and ensure low cost in the production process are emphasized which means increased profits for the companies. To Aristotle (1984) efficiency is not about the expected gains but implementation of the four causes in the process of production where they will be interrelated to achieve the companies’ objectives. In the modern world, only two causes that are applicable that is an efficient cause and the formal cause which ensures output equals inputs thus ensuring increased profits to the companies producing the phones. The formal cause ensures the phone functions well so as to attract increased profits by increased sales. To Hillman (2007) the notion of profit maximization and cost minimization is a situation of being narrow minded because the efficiency cause is striped of its correlative partners which make it lose its actual meaning. The companies’ motives of maximizing profits and minimizing costs lead them to use raw materials, which will cost less, but will still produce a phone also such companies will engage in producing less expensive phone which means they will increase their sales and hence increase their profits. The companies ensure their phones are sold because it is the only way they can earn profits, therefore, engineers and technicians who cannot think on ways to develop new products are replaced with others from other companies. The companies take the new products no matter the raw materials used to produce them and maintain such those engineers who work towards profit maximization and cost minimization (Adler, 1997). To Hillman (2007) such companies will lose publicity because the engineers and technicians are forced to produce phones which are substandard, but they have to keep on producing and thinking how they will come up with new models. This makes the engineers to deviate from the original procedures of phone production. To Hillman (2007) such behaviors hurt the human race by proving them with substandard products. The companies ensure the phones are sold so as to make profits which is their main motive of such companies. Production of phones with an aim of making high profits lacks humanity touch of it because those involved in the production of a certain brand of a phone know the products are substandard, but proceed to place it in the market. The material cause proposed by Hillman (2007) is overlooked because the raw materials are duplicated which lead to a low quality final cause which is the phone. Lack of humanity also is manifested where the engineers who cannot produce low quality phones are replaced. To Aristotle this is malicious and will continue to in generations to come if the four causes are not interlinked in the world of commerce activities. To Hillman the pressure on engineers to modify the products by use of low quality raw materials (material cause) affects the final product (final cause) which is discouraged by Aristotle’s proposal implementation of all the causes all together (Adler, 1997). The four causes should be implemented in the phone production industry to ensure better delivery and production high quality products. This will turn the phone production industry the most appealing because all the four causes will be uniformly implemented and emphasized. To start with more emphasizes should be on the material cause which are the raw materials for the phones. This will ensure the engineers and technicians use only the recommended ones to give top quality phones to make the business competitive within the market. Although the use of the recommended raw materials will result to reduction in profits (formal cause), but more people will buy the products which are genuine and of high value, which to Aristotle, is a means of efficiency. This means the phone (final cause) is implemented in production of a phone. The companies will pay their employee salaries which are line with their contribution in the production because they will work to promote humanity, but not profit maximization. More efficiency will be realized when the four causes are implemented all at once because all the parties involved act their part accordingly. To Aristotle as quality improves the more the sales will increase thus resulting to higher profits. To Hillman (2007) implementation of all the four causes will result to the realization of added formal causes which are beneficial to the companies and their employees and will increase the companies’ profits. Through emphasizing on the four causes the cause of efficiency is realized. This means that satisfaction is derived by all the parties involved but not at the expense of the customers’ welfare. Implementation will mean that the dangerous consequences that come as a result of treating efficiency as an independent principle will be eliminated. The consequences are, it favors short term thinking which means the parties involved do not look ahead because insensitivity has manifested itself in them. They do not consider the implications of their actions. They no longer value the quality of values of life which should be promoted by the product. The second consequence that will be eliminated is where the means becomes the end; this means something is done irrespective of the various ways used to accomplish the final goal. The engineers and technicians are forced to move out of their professional path to produce low quality products to achieve efficiency as viewed by the companies in the phone production industry. With the implementation of the four causes, the ethical confusion will be eliminated because efficiency alone does not provide justification for human action. Efficiency must be interlinked with the other three causes to avoid justification and defense of doing something in the wrong way. To Hillman (2007), emphasis should be put on the basic causes which identify and specify the effects of a certain activity that can result to unjust treatment of the parties. In the world, of commerce being cost effective is the order of the day getting much and paying less is the efficient method, but to Aristotle this is unjust, unethical and perhaps evil. The interlinking of the four causes, the companies will result to double bottom line which means that they promote social responsibility as they seek profits. This will harness efficiency, but not at the expenses of the well being of their employees and their customers this is as a result, putting all the causes together. This eliminates efficiency as the autonomous cause and ensures the four causes are interrelated to derive satisfaction to all parties. In conclusion, Aristotle’s four causes are crucial in the world of commerce especially the phone manufacturing companies. To Hillman (2007) the causes proposed by Aristotle should be interlinked so as to achieve the expected goals of a company without compromising the welfare of the employees and those who use their products. Implementation of the proposed causes will eliminate unjust and unfair aspects in the world of business. To Hillman profit (efficient cause) should not be the autonomous motivator to do business but it should be accompanied by other causes to realize the desired company goals. The Aristotle (1984) four causes ensure there is justice by ensuring the required procedures are followed, and the recommended raw materials (material cause) are used in the production of a commodity or a product. The four causes will help promote sensitivity which will respect humanity. The implementation of the causes will ensure that the companies engage in other activities beneficial to the communities around them. The four causes ensure that quality is maintained by following the right processes of production. In the current world, the companies’ main motive is to earn profits by paying less for the many services they get from their employees, to Aristotle this is unjust, and it should be eliminated by embracing the four causes. References Hillman, J. (2007). Kinds of power. New York: Crown business. Aristotle. (2005). Metaphysics. W.D Ross (Ed). South Dakota: Nuvision Publications. Adler, M. (1997). Aristotle for everybody. New York: Touchstone. Aristotle. (1984).Complete works of Aristotle. Barnes, j. (Ed). New Jersey: Princeton university press Read More