Liber de causis

The Liber de causis is a philosophical text that was influential in medieval thought. It is an excerpt from Proclus's Elements of Theology and was translated into Latin from Arabic, often being mistakenly attributed to Aristotle. The text deals with metaphysical concepts, particularly the idea of a "first cause".12

In philosophy, the "first cause" refers to a self-created being, such as God, from which all chains of causes ultimately originate. This concept was central to arguments for the existence of God, notably formulated by St. Thomas Aquinas, who argued that the observable order of causation requires a first cause that is not merely the first in a series but the cause of the entire series. However, philosophers like Immanuel Kant rejected this argument, asserting that causality cannot be applied beyond the realm of possible experience. The Liber de causis contributed to the Neoplatonic influence on medieval philosophy, presenting a hierarchical view of being derived from an ultimate principle.234