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Αἴτιον · cause (αι 370) · Suda

Letters

Α Β Γ Δ Ε Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο Π Ρ Σ Τ Υ Φ Χ Ψ Ω

Near αι370

αι366asking
αι367requesters
αι368cause
αι369begging
αι370cause
αι371causal falsehood
αι372I blame
αι373Etnaean filly
αι374Etnaean fire

Suda/ΑΙ alphaiota/αι370

← Previous entry,αι369 Next entry,αι371 →

Αἴτιον

cause

Translated by Monte Johnson8 Oct 2002Vetting: high7 revisions

definition
philosophy
science and technology

5 notes · 29 words

Translation

"The causes [are spoken of] in four ways:¹ as matter, as form, as end, as maker."² And of the causes some [are] antecedent,³ others auxiliary or cooperative,⁴ others (?)complete.⁵

Greek original · Adler’s text

Αἴτιον· ὅτι τετραχῶς τὰ αἴτια· ὡς ὕλη, ὡς εἶδος, ὡς τέλος, ὡς ποιητικόν. καὶ τῶν αἰτίων τὰ μὲν προκαταρκτικά, τὰ δὲ συνεργὰ ἢ συναίτια, τὰ δὲ τελικά.

Betacode

*ai)/tion: o(/ti tetraxw=s ta\ ai)/tia: w(s u(/lh, w(s ei)=dos, w(s te/los, w(s poihtiko/n. kai\ tw=n ai)ti/wn ta\ me\n prokatarktika/, ta\ de\ sunerga\ h)\ sunai/tia, ta\ de\ telika/.

Notes (5)

For the first sentence here cf. John Philoponus, Commentaries on Aristotle's de anima 273.8-9 Hayduck.
1Aristotle distinguished four kinds of causes or explanations (Posterior Analytics 94a21-3; Physics 194b24-33 = Metaphysics 1013a24-33; Metaphysics 983a27-32; On the generation of animals 715a4-7). The four named here correspond to his, but do not indicate the exact names he used in describing the four kinds of cause. ↩
2Or "what is productive of what is produced" (see Aristotle, Physics 194b31). Consider a typical example, the causes of a house: bricks and planks (matter); the layout or blueprint (form); sheltering goods and people (end); the architect and builders (maker). The subsequent distinctions are not Aristotelian; they are probably Stoic (see Hankinson, p. 245f.). ↩
3Antecedent causes precede in time their effects; the removal of an antecedent cause does not remove the effect. The distinction has major significance in Hellenistic (especially Stoic) discussions of fate and determinism. See Hankinson, pp. 244-247. Galen wrote a treatise On Antecedent Causes. On Stoic forms of causality see M. Frede (1980), 217-249. ↩
4Auxiliary causes contribute to an effect, but do not bring it about on their own. Sextus Empiricus gives as an example the case of two men lifting a heavy weight with difficulty, and so a third (an auxiliary cause) lightens it (PH 3.15). ↩
5Sextus Empiricus (PH 3.15) gives a different threefold division: sunektika/ (immediate or containing), sunai/tia (cooperative or associate), and sunerga/ (auxiliary). The present term telika/ may refer to the first of these, i.e. the immediate or containing cause. Alternatively it might refer to the "perfect" (perfectae) kind of cause also mentioned by Cicero, On Fate 41, in connection with "principal" causes in opposition to auxiliary causes. ↩

References

M. Frede, "The Original Notion of Cause", in M. Schofield, M. Burnyeat, J. Barnes (eds.), Doubt and Dogmatism. Studies in Hellenistic Epistemology. Oxford, 1980, 217-249
R.J. Hankinson. Cause and Explanation in Ancient Greek Thought. Oxford, 1998

Neighbouring entries

αι368Αἰτίαcause αι369Αἰτίζωνbegging αι370Αἴτιονcause αι371Αἰτιῶδες ψεῦδοςcausal falsehood αι372ΑἰτιῶμαιI blame

Revision history7 revisions · last 1 Dec 2015

1 Dec 2015cosmetics — David Whitehead
28 May 2012cosmetics, coding — Catharine Roth
17 May 2012cosmetics — David Whitehead
23 Nov 2005cosmeticule — Catharine Roth
23 Nov 2005cosmetics — David Whitehead
11 Oct 2002Expanded note and bibliography. Set status. — Marcelo Boeri
9 Oct 2002added note — David Whitehead
8 Oct 2002Translated — Monte Johnson

Cite this entry

Suda On Line, s.v. Αἴτιον (Adler number alphaiota 370), trans. Monte Johnson, 8 Oct 2002. https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/alphaiota/370

Translation by Monte Johnson for Suda On Line, revised by David Whitehead, Catharine Roth, Marcelo Boeri, licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Shown unchanged, under the same licence, non-commercially. Original on SOL ↗