Aristotle s Views On The Forms And Their Roles That They...

Throughout the semester thus far, this ethics class has discussed a few different texts and readings. From these readings, different ideas of form and what a thing truly is have arisen. When we read Plato, we discussed what his ideas of the forms were and that they were necessary in order to define what a thing truly is. After reading Phaedo by Plato and passages from The Republic, our class moved on to reading Book II of Physics by Aristotle. Similar to when we discussed Plato, with Aristotle we discussed his view of the forms and the purpose of having the forms. In this paper I will discuss Aristotle’s views on the forms and their roles that they play within our world. In Book II, chapter one of Physics Aristotle argues that nature is†¦show more content†¦For example. A man is in the form of a human. Also the man is considered a human when he is an infant. Therefore the form of a human must have existed before the human ever came into being. The child possesses the inner principle of what it means to be a human. Aristotle says, â€Å"Whatever things have this sort of principle have a nature. And all these are substance. For there is something underlying, and nature is in an underlying.† In order to understand what the form is to Aristotle, it is necessary to understand what nature is to Aristotle. By knowing the nature of a thing then we will be able to know the form of a thing. According to Aristotle a thing’s nature is that thing’s form. Its nature is what gives an object its purpose in this world and the reason for its making. If nature gives a thing its purpose, then nature must mean the purpose of something. And therefore, if nature is the purpose of something, it then has form. This form is given to the thing whenever it comes into being, or when it comes into existence. Going back to the previous example, a child is known as a human because that is the form it took on when it came into existence, even before it was born. A child’s nature is the form of a human. Most people would argue that a thing is what is because it is made up of different components. In this case I am in agreement with the many people who believe this. I think that things are what they are because they