Why does Aristotle believe that everything has a purpose?

Iqra_hussain216

What makes Aristotle believe in purpose?

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Reply 1

Joe312

Original post by Iqra_hussain216

What makes Aristotle believe in purpose?

It's the explanation he can think of for the existence of change. For ancient Greeks, the word purpose (telos) means the direction/inclination for behaviour/change/motion a thing has due to its nature. The fact that something changes in a certain way must be a result of its potential to change in that way, otherwise its change would be uncaused. Thus, things must have a nature which enable a thing to change in certain ways as per the way their nature is constituted.

Reply 2

Iqra_hussain216

Thank you so much
But wouldn’t some people argue how humans just assign everything with purposes when in fact we just exist and there shouldn’t be any reason for our existence but being present on earth

Reply 3

gjd800

Original post by Iqra_hussain216

He would ask you to prove that it is the case that we 'just exist' and 'just assign everything with purposes': he thinks he can show the converse to be the case

Simple assertion is never sufficient

What are the arguments for the positions that you stated?

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 4

Iqra_hussain216

Like Richard Dawkins argued that why do we need to assign ourselves with a purpose
Why can’t we just exist and just accept our places here
I personally think we have a purpose because what would be the actual point in life if there was nothing to fulfill

Reply 5

Joe312

Original post by Iqra_hussain216

Some would indeed say that, but then they'd have to come up with a better explanation for the existence of change than Aristotle did otherwise their claim is unsubstantiated.

Original post by Iqra_hussain216

Dawkins is not really making an argument there, more of a psychological observation. It could well be that some humans feel a psychological need to assign ourselves with a purpose. However it could still also be the case that we have a purpose nonetheless. Psychological arguments are always weak because they commit the genetic fallacy.

I'm not sure what you said is an argument either. Certainly if there was no purpose then there would be no cosmic/objective point to life... but maybe there isn't... You seem to be assuming that there must be?

Reply 6

Iqra_hussain216

I think there is
I think we’ve been placed here for a reason and if we weren’t, there would be no point in life
I was give the statement ‘is Aristotle wrong to believe everything has a purpose?’ And I was struggling to give a valid argument for it

Reply 7

Joe312

Original post by Iqra_hussain216

It's true that if we had not been placed here for a reason there would be no point to life, but that's not an argument for our being placed here for a reason, it just sounds like you would prefer that to be true so you're telling yourself it is.

Do you have a reason for thinking we've been placed here for a reason?

Reply 8

Iqra_hussain216

Because I believe in God and god placed us here to serve him and enter heaven
But I think it’s subjective and depends on a persons beliefs

Reply 9

Joe312

Original post by Iqra_hussain216

Because I believe in God and god placed us here to serve him and enter heaven
But I think it’s subjective and depends on a persons beliefs

If you think it's subjective, doesn't that mean it's just in your mind, not in reality?

Reply 10

Iqra_hussain216

I mean it’s subjective to other people
Some people may not believe in God and have a completely different outlook of purpose

Reply 11

Quick-use

Original post by Iqra_hussain216

What makes Aristotle believe in purpose?

Just remember to use the past tense since he's dead...

Reply 12

Joe312

Original post by Iqra_hussain216

I mean it’s subjective to other people
Some people may not believe in God and have a completely different outlook of purpose

Do you have a reason to think your outlook is more accurate?

Reply 13

Kaffee_1998

Original post by Iqra_hussain216

Because I believe in God and god placed us here to serve him and enter heaven
But I think it’s subjective and depends on a persons beliefs

Sure it does but then that opens up other questions.
Our basic purpose you could say is to consume and reproduce. Any other purpose we have has been artificially generated to serve the wider survival of the species.

If our purpose is to serve a deity then that only limits us as we will never evolve to find a better purpose.

Reply 14

Iqra_hussain216

No that’s just my point of view so I can’t say my personal purpose transcends the purpose that another person believes to have
It’s just how I view my purpose in life
Do you believe in there being a purpose

Reply 15

Joe312

Original post by Iqra_hussain216

Why would you continue to hold a point of view if you have no reason to think it's true?

Reply 16

LoyaltyAb0veAll

I am not sure why he believed in purpose.
but i am certain that a life with purpose yields
better return then one without.

Also, I believe religion serves a good purpose. Mind you, I'm
not saying it's principle can be proved, but i would rather live in
a world with religion then one without.
The reason being, religion provides such strong moral codes. it puts a limit on
freedom and as we know, too much of anything can consume you.

Reply 17

Iqra_hussain216

Yes so true
I think religion does act as a guidance especially for those who struggle to get by in this cruel world
And to many it gives them the purpose they thought they never had
But purpose really depends on a persons beliefs imo

Reply 18

Joe312

Original post by Iqra_hussain216

Imagine that I wrote a fictional story I intended to be a positive inspiration to people who are struggling. The story would not be true, but it would help people. It sounds like that's what you think of the Bible and religion? False, but helpful to believe in?

Reply 19

Lord_Mediocre

Original post by Iqra_hussain216

In a world of random occurrence (not truly random) there is no purpose for a lot of things. The reality is so many of the things that occur to you on a dIly basis have no purpose whatsoever to anyone including you. Stretching that concept we can quite easily see a world just existing. Earth has very little purpose in the existence of the entire universe. We're on pointless and meaningless and that's a great thing.