{"product_id":"formal-causes-definition-explanation-and-primacy-in-socratic-and-aristotelian-thought-hardcover","title":"Formal Causes: Definition, Explanation, and Primacy in Socratic and Aristotelian Thought - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMichael T. Ferejohn\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMichael T. Ferejohn presents an original interpretation of key themes in Aristotle's classic works. The principal historical thesis of this work is that Aristotle's commendation of the historical Socrates for \"being the first to pursue universal definitions\" is explainable in part by his own attraction to the \"formal cause\" (or definition-based) mode of explanation as providing justification for scientific knowledge. After exploring the motives behind Socrates' search for definitions of the ethical virtues, Ferejohn argues that Aristotle's commitment to the centrality of formal cause explanation in the theory of demonstration he advances in the \u003cem\u003ePosterior Analytics\u003c\/em\u003e is at odds with his independent recognition that natural phenomena are best explained by reference to efficient causes. Ferejohn then argues that this tension is ultimately resolved in Aristotle's later scientific works, when he abandons this commitment and instead evinces a marked preference for explanation of natural phenomena in terms of efficient as well as so-called final (teleological) causes. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis tension between formal and efficient cause explanations is especially evident in Aristotle's discussions of events such as thunder and eclipses in \u003cem\u003ePosterior Analytics B\u003c\/em\u003e 8-10. In the later chapters of the book Ferejohn defends a novel interpretation of Aristotle's manner of treating these phenomena that depends on his fourfold classification of scientific questions and the presupposition relations he believes to hold among them. The final chapter turns to the role of definition in Aristotle's mature ontology. Ferejohn argues that in \u003cem\u003eMetaphysics Z\u003c\/em\u003e 17 he proposes a treatment of kinds of composite substances parallel to that of thunder and eclipses in the \u003cem\u003ePosterior Analytics\u003c\/em\u003e, and that this treatment is a crucial element in his sustained argument in \u003cem\u003eMetaphysics Z\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eH\u003c\/em\u003e that such kinds are definable unities.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMichael T. Ferejohn\u003c\/strong\u003e is an Professor of Philosophy and Classical Studies at Duke University. He has held visiting positions at the University of Pittsburgh and Tufts University, and a Mellon Faculty Fellowship at Havard University. He is the author of \u003cem\u003eThe Origins of Aristotelian Science\u003c\/em\u003e (Yale University Press, 1991) as well as numerous journal articles on Plato and Aristotle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 224\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.9 x 8.6 x 5.6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e January 28, 2014\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46029821116613,"sku":"9780199695300","price":193.73,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0757\/6718\/5605\/files\/vrMIbmnemN9780199695300.webp?v=1775541344","url":"https:\/\/selloorium.com\/products\/formal-causes-definition-explanation-and-primacy-in-socratic-and-aristotelian-thought-hardcover","provider":"Selloorium","version":"1.0","type":"link"}