Aristotle was known as the father of Western causal theory. “To know a thing is to know its causes” is a phrase he was also known to say. He found a way to explain causality called the four-cause theory. This theory included the formal cause, the material cause, the efficient cause and the final cause. Many philosophers agreed with the Aristotelian version of modern causation, but there was one philosopher in particular who argued that the fourfold theory of cause was unnecessary. Thus modern causality was born. The first form of Aristotelian causality is the formal cause; this cause focuses on the present. This form implies the essence, form and nature of things. It plays on the pure form of objects, then becomes more precise with the gender, then even more with the species of said object. There are tons of examples of formal causation: Dwayne Wade plays basketball for the Heat, his number is 3, that counts as formal causation. Another common reference to television is that a television is not just a large glass box, but the combination of glass, metal, and nuts and bolts that allows it to work. The reference to home is also very common; for a house to exist, it must have brick, concrete or wood as its foundation so that it is possible to live in it in complete safety. The next form of causality is the material cause; this cause also focuses on the present. The material cause is based on Aristotle's matter and the principle of individuation. This cause is synonymous with what literally appears on the substantive plane. For example, Vogue magazine literally consists of images, paper and ink. When you see an average TV, it is made of plastic, glass, and/or metal substances. The house in which someone could live...... middle of paper ...... y of modern causality is quite clear. William of Ockham agreed with only one of Aristotle's theories of causality, but claimed that the other three were invalid due to the lack of human experience in each theory. Aristotelian's four-pronged theory of causality included four main causes: the formal cause, the material cause, the efficient cause, and the final cause. All Aristotelian causes focused on a certain period of time: the past, present or future, which influenced the interpretation of each theory itself. The formal cause and the material cause are centered on the past, the efficient cause is centered on the present time; while finally, the final cause is focused on the future. The efficient cause was considered the most important of the four by William of Ockham. These are the differences between the Aristotelian four-pronged theory of causality and general modern causality..