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Jun. 26th, 2022 11:54 amLet's use Aristotle's four causes to probe and reveal hidden gems in the Three Little Pigs story, while keeping an eye on potential categorical implications.
Aristotle's theory proposes four main types of causes:
1) Material cause -- an undifferentiated raw material, e.g. straw, sticks, bricks. (M – material)
2) Formal cause –- a form that gives shape to a material. (P – package)
3) Efficient cause –- an active effort to apply a form to a material. (T – technology)
4) Final cause –– an end, a purpose, a final use worth bothering with the whole effort. (R - result)
How does this theory work for the Little Pigs?
1) We have three types of raw materials: a) actual physical materials: straw, etc.; b) pigs' raw labor – a day per each; c) wolf's effort.
2) We also have three types of form: a) house design; b) labor organization that divides each pig's day into work and fun; c) wolf's labor, e.g. trickstery and blowing.
3) Each character (pig/wolf) acts an efficient cause because they shape both the material and their own labor.
4) The purpose for the pigs is to have fun and repel the wolf. For the wolf, it's eating the pigs.
PxT --> MxM --> R.
PxT --> MxM --> RxR. ( when we consider a zero-sum game between the pigs and the wolf).
The outcomes are binary: success(true) and failure (false). Therefore, we can use booleans to measure them, which in turn allows us to apply boolean algebra, so that we can easily evaluate and compare various uses of resources and technology.
Our choice of booleans has an important implications because it helps build a dynamic model that shows life-changing reversals from failure to success and back. (being vs becoming).
Aristotle's theory proposes four main types of causes:
1) Material cause -- an undifferentiated raw material, e.g. straw, sticks, bricks. (M – material)
2) Formal cause –- a form that gives shape to a material. (P – package)
3) Efficient cause –- an active effort to apply a form to a material. (T – technology)
4) Final cause –– an end, a purpose, a final use worth bothering with the whole effort. (R - result)
How does this theory work for the Little Pigs?
1) We have three types of raw materials: a) actual physical materials: straw, etc.; b) pigs' raw labor – a day per each; c) wolf's effort.
2) We also have three types of form: a) house design; b) labor organization that divides each pig's day into work and fun; c) wolf's labor, e.g. trickstery and blowing.
3) Each character (pig/wolf) acts an efficient cause because they shape both the material and their own labor.
4) The purpose for the pigs is to have fun and repel the wolf. For the wolf, it's eating the pigs.
PxT --> MxM --> R.
PxT --> MxM --> RxR. ( when we consider a zero-sum game between the pigs and the wolf).
The outcomes are binary: success(true) and failure (false). Therefore, we can use booleans to measure them, which in turn allows us to apply boolean algebra, so that we can easily evaluate and compare various uses of resources and technology.
Our choice of booleans has an important implications because it helps build a dynamic model that shows life-changing reversals from failure to success and back. (being vs becoming).
