Aristotle disagreed with Plato's idea of Forms existing independently of the physical world. He believed that the identity of a thing is part of its physical substance and form. Aristotle identified four types of causes that determine what a thing is: the material, formal, efficient, and final causes. The final cause, or purpose of a thing, gives rise to the concept of teleology which is important in philosophy and ethics of religion.

1. ‘A’ Level Philosophy and Ethics
Notes
Aristotle - Causality
Aristotle's Metaphysics
Metaphysics:- Any enquiry that raises questions about reality
that lie beyond or behind those capable of being
tackled by the methods of science.
(Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy)
Literally, it means "Beyond Physics". The Metaphysical
includes matters of Spirituality, Religion, Emotion and
Love. It is essentially non-empirical and non-materialist,
and empiricists have a deep mistrust of the metaphysical
because talk of it cannot be supported by any sense
experience. Note that David Hume argued against the
Metaphysical, writing:
Aristotle rejected Plato's idea of The Form. He felt that
Plato's claim of "innate" knowledge was wrong, and that
the idea of "Form" was built up through contact with the
material world. The Form exists in our experience.
Form and Aristotle proposed a system of categories, by which
Matter objects in the material world were to be known:
§ I see a thing which I believe to be a man.
§ It conforms to my knowledge of "The Form of Man".
§ But it could be an ape, a statue or even a robot. How
do I know?
§ There must be a concept of "Man" over and above the
form. I refer to this when I make my claim that the
object is a man.
§ However, I still cannot be sure - I refer to another
concept of "man", and another......
Because the Forms are "immanent" (indwelling) in the
"particulars", we have true knowledge through our senses.
Aristotle believed that all that we know is based closely on
our experience. He established methods for acquiring this
experience, and his methods form the foundations of
modern science.

2. Aristotle - Causality
Causality
Plato believed that a thing can be identified by its “Form”, an abstract
idea that existed independently of the physical world.
Aristotle disagreed with his teacher. He believed that the identity of a thing is
a part of its physical existence. He distinguished between the substance of a
thing, and its form.
Consider a car
÷ ø
The substance is the The Form is the
stuff that a thing is combination of
made of. components that
This would be the distinguishes the car
metal, plastic, rubber from another wheeled
and so on. vehicle.
The form in this case isn’t a Universal – it is distinctive to each individual
object. Aristotle came to believe that there are four causes that lead to a
thing being the way it is.
Material ð The matter, or stuff, that a thing is made from.
The bronze in the statue
Formal ð The kind of thing that it is (i.e. the Form that it
conforms to).
The model for the statue
Efficient ð The agent that brings something about (the kick that
moves the ball).
The sculptor
Final ð The goal or purpose that a thing moves towards, the
reason why it is the way that it is.
The purpose or reason for the statue.
The final cause is hugely important for the Philosophy and Ethics of Religion.
The concept of the Final Cause gives us the concept of Teleology. This idea
suggests that the aim or purpose of a thing can have some philosophical
significance.
The Natural Law theory of Ethics argues that an action can be judged by its
purpose – sex leads to pregnancy, so any sexual activity that does not lead
to pregnancy is wrong.
2