[[Aristotle|Aristotle’s]] four causes are:
1. The **material** cause
2. The **formal** cause
3. The **efficient** cause
4. The **final** cause
The material cause is the substance of the thing. What it is made from. For a table this would be the wood and screws.
The formal cause is the thingness of the thing. What is a table? What properties make it a table and not a chair? For example, a table has legs and a flat surface. The formal cause is what makes a final cause possible (its [[Affordance]]).
The efficient cause is what brought it into being—what made it and how. For a table this would be a carpenter and tools.
The final cause is the *[[Telos|telos]]*—or *end of the thing.* A table is for putting things on, eating on, and gathering around.