Essay from the year 2009 in the subject Philosophy - Miscellaneous, grade: A, Bucknell University, language: English, abstract: Since ancient Greece, philosophers have wondered how objects come into existence. Aristotle proposed that everything was made by one of four reasons or causes. The mechanical cause describes how the object is composed. For instance, the mechanical cause of a tire is rubber. The formal cause describes the plans or pattern of an object, like a blueprint for a house, while the efficient cause is the cause/effect relations of an object, like an artists paint and brushes resulting in painting a picture. The final cause, however, is defined as, "the purpose, the good, or the end of something." For example, the final cause of a folder is to store papers.