formal cause

[ fawr-muhl ]

noun

, Aristotelianism.

1. cause8b

Word History and Origins

Origin of formal cause¹

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

Example Sentences

“If this is true, then no matter the formal cause the responsibility for the premature death is Vladimir Putin personally, who first gave the green light to the poisoning of Alexei and then put him in prison,” said Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an exiled Russia tycoon turned opposition figure in exile, speaking in an online statement.

From Seattle Times

A post-mortem examination was carried out on Thursday but no formal cause of death was established, with further tests due to be carried out.

From BBC

A pathologist had given the formal cause as unascertained due to the state of decomposition of the body.

From BBC

Jurors at the Royal Courts of Justice heard the formal cause of Amman's death was shock and haemorrhage due to gunshot wounds to the neck and abdomen.

From BBC

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 Literature