Reflection #14

	Aristotle created “The great chain of being”, which was basically an organization of all living things from greatest to highest. He believed that every natural thing derived from one another in a linking pattern. This leading to the highest level which would be us humans since we have the greatest thinking and logical abilities. His purpose was to compare all living things to one another. He believed that every link had a meaning and there was no empty links in between the chain. Aristotle also came up with the four causes. The four causes explains that there can be many causes to one thing, and we can categorize something even though it can have many various complete opposite causes. The first and second causes are the classificatory causes. It is the description of what kind of form the species or thing your analyzing is. This can refer to material matters. Causes three and four were the dynamic causes. It is a deeper analyzation of how things function and why they function. The way we treat a specific matter is through knowledge, and the only way of having knowledge is by having a full understanding of something is by knowing why it is the way it is, also known as understanding the cause. That is why these four causes are so crucial to the development of western education. The four causes helps students full understand the subject they are studying by having them analyze situations. Aristotle wanted students to grasp the cause of how and why things are the way they are. This plays a huge role in science for example. When conducting an experiment and mixing several chemicals it is important that one understands what chemicals cause certain reactions. In his theory of the unmoved mover, Aristotle classified humans as a substance. He believed that in order for something to last forever, it was never created nor can it be destroyed. It is something that has always and will always exist. In order for something to be a “substance” it is dependent of anything else and can stand on it’s own. He believed that everything that moves was set into motion by something else. Even though Aristotles theories are somewhat confusing, they do apply a lot to education.