Potentiality and actuality
In philosophy, Potentiality and actuality are a pair of closely connected principles which Aristotle used to analyze motion, causality, ethics, and physiology in his Physics, Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics, and On the Soul.
The concept of potentiality, in this context, generally refers to any “possibility” that a thing can be said to have. Aristotle did not consider all possibilities the same, and emphasized the importance of those that become real of their own accord when conditions are right and nothing stops them. Actuality, in contrast to potentiality, is the motion, change or activity that represents an exercise or fulfillment of a possibility, when a possibility becomes real in the fullest sense. Both these concepts therefore reflect Aristotle’s belief that events in nature are not all natural in a true sense. As he saw it, many things happen accidentally, and therefore not according to the natural purposes of things.
These concepts, in modified forms, remained very important into the Middle Ages, influencing the development of medieval theology in several ways. In modern times the dichotomy has gradually lost importance, as understandings of nature and deity have changed. However the terminology has also been adapted to new uses, as is most obvious in words like energy and dynamic. These were words first used in modern physics by the German scientist and philosopher, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. More controversially, Aristotle’s concept of entelechy retains influence on occasional calls for the use of “entelechy” in biology.
Across various philosophical traditions, the concept of “potency” is expressed using terms that emphasize inherent capacity, ability, or the potential for future actuality. [1, 2]
Ancient Greek Philosophy (Aristotelian Tradition)
- Dunamis (): This is the primary Ancient Greek term that is widely translated as “potency,” “potential,” “power,” “capacity,” or “ability”. It refers to the inherent potential for something to change or to become actual. Aristotle distinguished between:
- Active Potency: The capacity of an agent to affect or change something else (e.g., a sculptor’s ability to mold clay).
- Passive Potency: The capacity of a subject to be affected or changed by something else (e.g., the clay’s capacity to be molded).
- Energeia () / Entelecheia (): While these terms mean “actuality” or “fulfillment” and are the contrast to potency, understanding them is crucial, as potency is defined in relation to them (the potential is the capacity for the actual). [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Medieval Philosophy (Scholasticism/Thomism)
- Potentia: This is the Latin translation of the Greek dunamis and is the direct root of the English words “potency” and “potential”. Philosophers like Thomas Aquinas used this term extensively within the framework of act and potency to explain change and the nature of being.
- Possibilis: Used to refer to something that is possible or could happen, often in a weaker sense than the inherent, natural potential implied by potentia. [1, 6, 7]
Early Modern and Modern Philosophy
- Power: English philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes and John Locke used the common English word “power” as their translation and equivalent of the Latin potentia. In this context, “power” emphasizes the force or ability to produce a result.
- Capacity/Capability: These English terms are often used interchangeably with “potency” to denote the inherent ability or aptitude for a specific outcome.
- Dispositionality: In contemporary metaphysics and philosophy of language, some philosophers argue that “potentiality” and “dispositionality” have the same meaning, referring to the inherent properties or dispositions of an object that would lead to a certain outcome under specific conditions. [1, 3, 8, 9, 10]
These terms highlight how different traditions conceptualize the fundamental idea of unrealized ability or the potential for change within reality.
AI responses may include mistakes.
[1] wikipedia/en/Potentiality_and_actuality
[3] https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/potentiality
[5] wikipedia/en/Dunamis_(disambiguation)
[8] https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/potency
[9] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/potency
[10] https://hal.science/hal-02565369v1/file/Kistler-Potentiality-18march2015.pdf
Words for “act” vary across philosophical traditions, including actuality and act of will (volition) in metaphysics and general action theory, locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary acts in speech act theory, and operation or activity in scholasticism. The term’s meaning depends on the context, from the state of being actual to the performance of a speech or a deliberate action.
Metaphysics and scholasticism
- Actuality: The state of having been realized or fulfilled, as opposed to potentiality.
- Operation: In scholasticism, a synonym for “act” as a power of operation or activity.
- Principle of Act: Refers to the actualization of a being, where a being moves from potentiality to actuality.
Action theory
- Volition: A synonym for “act of will,” considered a component of human action.
- Action: The deliberate and intentional movement of a person, which can be broken down into parts like knowledge, volition, and execution.
- Event: In some contexts, “action” can refer to a specific, concrete event in time and space, while “act” may refer to the type or category of what a person does.
Speech act theory
- Locutionary Act: The act of producing a meaningful utterance, consisting of phonetic (sound), phatic (grammar), and rhetic (meaning) elements.
- Illocutionary Act: The function or purpose behind the utterance (e.g., a promise, a warning, a question).
- Perlocutionary Act: The effect that the utterance has on the listener (e.g., persuading, frightening, or convincing them).
AI responses may include mistakes.
[1] https://philosophy.institute/metaphysics/principle-act-metaphysical-understanding/
[3] https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/thematic/action/v-1/sections/actions-events-and-individuation
[4] https://iep.utm.edu/john-austin/
[5] https://www.dictionary.com/browse/act
[6] https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/potency-and-act
[7] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20393686/
[8] https://study.com/academy/lesson/speech-act-theory-definition-pragmatics.html
[10] https://www.vaia.com/en-us/explanations/english/tesol-english/speech-act-theory/