final cause

American  

noun

Aristotelianism.

1. cause8b

---

final cause British  

noun

1. philosophy the end or purpose of a thing or process, as opposed to its efficient cause See cause

---

Etymology

Origin of final cause

First recorded in 1350–1400

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

final cause

British actor Julian Sands' final cause of death has been deemed undetermined.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2023

Scientists will determine the final cause of death based on pending lab results.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 8, 2023

The next day, Mr. Ketler’s body was taken to the city’s morgue, where the final cause of death was established.

From New York Times ● Jul. 3, 2022

Each final cause leads to another, until we get to the first cause or prime mover.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022

As far as Aristotle was concerned, as we saw in Chapter 3, causal explanations had four components: the formal cause, the final cause, the material cause and the efficient cause.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• purpose