Re: formal cause and time

[Ayten Aydin <***>]

Dear David,

Thank you for clarifications which perhaps places me to a more informed position. From this position I limit myself on commenting on " your friend's describing formal cause as the instructions for building something". 

Here immediately it comes to my mind the relation between matter and form to build something, let's say a bridge. Yes you start with a project which includes all aspects of the process of building. But it is just a plan. On the road that is when you start building it in reality as new problems show themselves they effect both the shape/form and the material /matter used. Matter and form somehow have to bend to each other. The objective is still the same unless you are stuck somewhere for one reason or the other. In the physical world we could expect to go that far. Even there Aristotle's four causes and their mutual entailments are involved to an extent, especially when the ultimate object of building a bridge is not only building it but serving a purpose as facilitating the living (if there are no vested interest behind). 

Here perhaps comes in the process approach representing the life itself with all its internal and external implications. It is like Whitehead's seminal statement of reality is the process itself, thus living is a process and wherever/whenever there is a human involvement/touch all causes are effected. Whether these views are relevant or not they are the results of my own experience and observations starting from my engineering practices. Theories and philosophies are perhaps starters but to my mind reflecting on personal experiences in many fields are there to validate them. RR's books and conversation in this list -while at times confusing- have been very useful in shaping my thoughts but on my own way and within my ability to grasp them. These are some uttering on a Sunday morning. I hope I am not bringing a confusion into your tete-a-tete with your friend.

Have a sunny day as we have it in Rome.

Ayten



On Nov 12, 2005, at 7:22 PM, David Macy wrote:

> "the instructions for building something"