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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Our Philosophy- Falsafatuna Chapter Four: Matter or God In the previous chapter[^1], we reached the conclusion that the highest and most primary principle of the universe or the world in general is a cause necessary in essence, to which the chain of causes leads.

Now, the new question is this: 'Is that which is necessary in essence and which is considered the first source of existence matter itself or something else beyond the limits of matter?' Putting this question in a philosophical form, we say: ' Is the efficient cause of the world the same as the material cause, or it is not?' For the purpose of clarification, we take the chair as an example.

The chair is just a specific quality or form produced by a specific organization of a number of material parts. That is why the chair cannot exist without a matter of wood, iron or the like. Because of this, the wood is called a material cause of a wooden chair, since it is impossible for the wooden chair to exist without it. But it is very clear chat this material cause is not the real cause which is responsible for making the chair.

The real agent of the chair is something other than its matter. it is the carpenter. For this reason, philosophy gives the carpenter the name 'efficient cause'. The efficient cause of the chair is not the same as its material cause, be that wood or iron. Thus, if we are asked about the matter of the chair, we answer that it is the wood. If, (p. 988) on the other hand, we are asked about the maker of the chair (the efficient cause), we do not answer that it is the wood.

Rather, we say that the carpenter makes it with his tools and by his own methods. Therefore, the difference between the matter and the agent of the chair (philosophically speaking, between the material cause and the efficient cause) is fully clear. Our main purpose with respect to this issue is to show the same difference between the world's primary matter (the material cause) and its real agent (the efficient cause).

Is the agent or maker of this world something external to the limits of matter and different from matter, as the maker of the chair is different from the wooden matter; or is it the same as the matter of which the existents of this world are composed? This is the issue that will determine the last stage of the philosophical conflict between theology and materialism.