potentiality and actuality

"Actuality" comes from Latin actualitas and is a traditional translation, but its normal meaning in Latin is "anything which is currently happening". Taken literally, Aristotle defines motion as the actuality (entelecheia) of a "potentiality as such". The Monadology is one of Gottfried Leibniz's best known works of his later philosophy. Potentiality and Actuality | Russell Jesse | ISBN: 9785509324611 | Kostenloser Versand für alle Bücher mit Versand und Verkauf duch Amazon. Aristotle's definition of motion is closely connected to his actuality-potentiality distinction. 5 Potentiality and Actuality As stated above, Aristotle’s first definition of dunamis is that of the causal power to change something or to be changed by something, a power whose domain covers things with and without reason. is not in actuality or in potentiality. The being-at-work-staying-the-same of a potency as a potency is motion. Within the works of Aristotle the terms energeia and entelecheia, often translated as actuality, differ from what is merely actual because they specifically presuppose that all things have a proper kind of activity or work which, if achieved, would be their proper end. He equates this concept also with the active intellect. To describe the activity of this faculty, the word "intellection" is sometimes used in philosophical contexts, as well as the Greek words noēsis and noeîn. For other uses, see, Tredennick's translation, with links to his footnote cross references, using the. As with the first interpretation however, Sachs (2005) objects that: One implication of this interpretation is that whatever happens to be the case right now is an entelechia, as though something that is intrinsically unstable as the instantaneous position of an arrow in flight deserved to be described by the word that everywhere else Aristotle reserves for complex organized states that persist, that hold out against internal and external causes that try to destroy them. A potential x is not a kind of x, but at best a thing of a different kind that is capable of becoming an x (so, for example, the destruction of a potential x is not the same as the destruction of an… …   Philosophy dictionary, actuality —    by Claire Colebrook   It might seem that Deleuze s philosophy is dominated by an affirmation of the virtual and is highly critical of a western tradition that has privileged actuality. This does not mean that at one time it thinks but at another time it does not think, but when separated it is just exactly what it is, and this alone is deathless and everlasting (though we have no memory, because this sort of intellect is not acted upon, while the sort that is acted upon is destructible), and without this nothing thinks. com Abstract Myles Burnyeat has argued that in De Anima Π. We speak of someone having understanding, whether they are using that understanding or not. In Eastern Orthodox Christianity, St Gregory Palamas wrote about the "energies" (actualities; singular energeia in Greek, or actus in Latin) of God in contrast to God's "essence" (ousia). [54]. "Being is said in many ways", "Aristotle on potentiality and actuality" (including sub-sections). Modal logic as a named subject owes much to the writings of the Scholastics, in particular William of Ockham and John Duns Scotus, who reasoned informally in a modal manner, mainly to analyze statements about essence and accident. "Actuality" comes from Latin actualitas and is a traditional translation, but its normal meaning in Latin is "anything which is currently happening". Greek for end in this sense is telos, a component word in entelecheia (a work that is the proper end of a thing) and also teleology. Sachs (2005) associates this interpretation with St Thomas of Aquinas and explains that by this explanation "the apparent contradiction between potentiality and actuality in Aristotle's definition of motion" is resolved "by arguing that in every motion actuality and potentiality are mixed or blended". The two words energeia and entelecheia were coined by Aristotle, and he stated that their meanings were intended to converge. He writes: The man with sight, but with his eyes closed, differs from the blind man, although neither is seeing. It examines what can be asserted about any being insofar as it is and not because of any special qualities it has. This stronger sense is mainly said of the potentials of living things, although it is also sometimes used for things like musical instruments. All things that exist now, and not just potentially, are beings-at-work, and all of them have a tendency towards being-at-work in a particular way that would be their proper and "complete" way. The interpretation of Averroes, Maimonides, and W.D. It is difficult to translate his use of energeia into English with consistency. [8] According to Aristotle, when we refer to the nature of a thing, we are referring to the form, shape or look of a thing, which was already present as a potential, an innate tendency to change, in that material before it achieved that form, but things show what they are more fully, as a real thing, when they are "fully at work". While there are cases in which classifying a "cause" is difficult, or in which "causes" might merge, Aristotle held that his four "causes" provided an analytical scheme of general applicability. Dunamis is an ordinary Greek word for possibility or capability. The term is used in a wide variety of fields, from physics to the social sciences to indicate things that are in a state where they are able to change in ways ranging from the simple release of energy by objects to the realization of abilities in people. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Lyceum, the Peripatetic school of philosophy, and the Aristotelian tradition. We speak of someone having understanding, whether they are using that understanding or not. [34] Leibniz wrote:[35]. Meaning of potentiality and actuality. Thus plants have the capacity for nourishment and reproduction, the minimum that must be possessed by any kind of living organism. Polybius about 150 BC, in his work the Histories uses Aristotle's word energeia in both an Aristotelian way and also to describe the "clarity and vividness" of things. But when the first man opens his eyes, has he lost the capacity to see? While actuality is linked by Aristotle to his concept of a formal cause, potentiality (or potency) on the other hand, is linked by Aristotle to his concepts of substance and material cause. Leibniz was also one of the main inspirations for the important movement in philosophy known as German Idealism, and within this movement and schools influence by it entelechy may denote a force propelling one to self-fulfillment. For example, the motion of building is the energeia of the dunamis of the building materials as building materials as opposed to anything else they might become, and this potential in the unbuilt materials is referred to by Aristotle as "the buildable". On the other hand, the "as such" is important and is explained at length by Aristotle, giving examples of "potentiality as such". For example, "to be a rock is to strain to be at the center of the universe, and thus to be in motion unless constrained otherwise". Hexis is a relatively stable arrangement or disposition, for example a person's health or knowledge or character. Anything that partakes in being is also called a "being", though often this usage is limited to entities that have subjectivity. Leading vitalists like Driesch argued that many of the basic problems of biology cannot be solved by a philosophy in which the organism is simply considered a machine.[37]. People sometimes speak of a figure being already present in a rock which could be sculpted to represent that figure. In philosophy, being means the material or immaterial existence of a thing. As discussed above, terms derived from dunamis and energeia have become parts of modern scientific vocabulary with a very different meaning from Aristotle's. Joe Sachs renders it with the phrase "being–at–work" and says that "we might construct the word is-at-work-ness from Anglo-Saxon roots to translate energeia into English". Peter S. Groff with Oliver Leaman . While this has not become a consensus, it has been described as having become "orthodox". For the film genre, see, "Dunamis" redirects here. Actuality (energeia in Greek) is that mode of being in which a thing can bring other things about or be brought about by them, the realm of events and facts. Info In philosophy, potentiality and actuality are principles of a dichotomy which Aristotle used to analyze motion, causality, ethics, and physiology in his Physics, Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics and De Anima (which is about the human psyche). And this type of distinction is expressed for several different types of being within Aristotle's categories of being. For this reason, the meanings of the two words converge, and they both depend upon the idea that every thing's "thinghood" is a kind of work, or in other words a specific way of being in motion. Potentiality and potency are translations of the Ancient Greek word dunamis (δύναμις) as it is used by Aristotle as a concept contrasting with actuality.Its Latin translation is "potentia", root of the English word potential, and used by some scholars instead of the Greek or English variants.. Dunamis is an ordinary Greek word for possibility or capability. Leading vitalists like Driesch argued that many of the basic problems of biology cannot be solved by a philosophy in which the organism is simply considered a machine. Sachs (2005) explains that in this explanation "the apparent contradiction between potentiality and actuality in Aristotle’s definition of motion" is resolved "by arguing that in every motion actuality and potentiality are mixed or blended". See below. [52] Vitalism and its concepts like entelechy have since been discarded as without value for scientific practice by the overwhelming majority of professional biologists. Definition of potentiality and actuality in the Definitions.net dictionary. [14] Aristotle says the word can be made clear by looking at examples rather than trying to find a definition. For other uses, see, "Energeia" redirects here. "Inherent within the notion of human potential is the belief that in reaching their full potential an individual will be able to lead a happy and more fulfilled life". Using the term in ways that could translated as "vigor" or "energy" (in a more modern sense); for society, "practice" or "custom"; for a thing, "operation" or "working"; like vigor in action. Substantial forms are the source of properties, order, unity, identity, and information about objects. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plotinus/, http://books.google.com/books?id=xZPsSG75uCUC&pg=PA13, "Leibniz's Theoretical Shift in the Phoranomus and Dynamica de Potentia", http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/perspectives_on_science/v006/6.1duchesneau.html, http://books.google.com/books?id=3RcOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA206, http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=761&layout=html#chapter_80758, "Aristotle: Motion and its Place in Nature", "The Internet Classics Archive - Aristotle, http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/soul.html, http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/categories.html, http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/physics.html, http://books.google.com/books?id=UrrWAAAAMAAJ&pg=PR9, http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/f_leibniz.html, "Once he has reached the other side of the room, his potentiality to be there has been actualized in Ross’ sense of the term". Mind has the capacity to transcend itself, to go beyond its individuality to the universal ground of reality, which is pure potentiality. Cambridge University Press. Actuality is often used to translate both energeia (ενέργεια) and entelecheia (ἐντελέχεια) (sometimes rendered in English as "entelechy"). Recent writing on the central books of Aristotle’sMetaphysicshas tended to emphasize the importance of book VII and to pay relatively little attention to book IX, which contains the only extended explanation of the distinction between potentiality and actuality in Aristotle’s works.¹ Given the centrality of the distinction to Aristotle’s thought, this scholarly neglect is puzzling. 2007. Aristotle discusses motion (kinēsis) in his Physics quite differently from modern science. Being is a concept encompassing objective and subjective features of reality and existence. [29], Already in Aristotle's own works, the concept of a distinction between energeia and dunamis was used in many ways, for example to describe the way striking metaphors work, [30] or human happiness. [20] This and similar more recent publications are the basis of the following summary. These concepts, in modified forms, remained very important into the Middle Ages, influencing the development of medieval theology in several ways. Joe Sachs renders it with the phrase "being–at–work" and says that "we might construct the word is-at-work-ness from Anglo-Saxon roots to translate energeia into English". This is a type of. A Letter to M. Remond de Montmort, containing Remarks on the Book of Father Tertre against Father Malebranche". Going further into modern times, while the understanding of nature, and according to some interpretations deity, implied by the dichotomy lost importance, the terminology has found new uses, developing indirectly from the old. Aristotle (1989). As a result, his philosophy has exerted a unique influence on almost every form of knowledge in the West and it continues to be a subject of contemporary philosophical discussion. It is considered to be the precursor of natural science. [29] Diodorus Siculus in 60-30 BC used the term in a very similar way to Polybius. These include Finnish, Japanese, and Sanskrit. [9]. Sachs therefore proposed a complex neologism of his own, "being-at-work-staying-the-same". Islamic Philosophy. It is an Ancient Greek word, important in the philosophy of Aristotle, and because of this it has become a traditional word of philosophy. Actuality — may refer to: * Modal logic * Potentiality and actuality (Aristotle) * A slogan on the television network TruTV … Wikipedia. This is an aspect of Aristotle's theory of four causes and specifically of formal cause (eidos, which Aristotle says is energeia [25] ) and final cause (telos). Sachs (2005) points out that it was also the interpretation of Averroes and Maimonides. It is difficult to translate his use of energeia into English with consistency. [25], The active intellect was a concept Aristotle described that requires an understanding of the actuality-potentiality dichotomy. [15], Two examples of energeiai in Aristotle's works are pleasure and happiness (eudaimonia). The argument of Ross for this interpretation requires him to assert that Aristotle actually used his own word entelecheia wrongly, or inconsistently, only within his definition, making it mean "actualization", which is in conflict with Aristotle's normal use of words. Just as energeia extends to entelecheia because it is the activity which makes a thing what it is, entelecheia extends to energeia because it is the end or perfection which has being only in, through, and during activity. [2], Entelecheia, as can be seen by its derivation, is a kind of completeness, whereas "the end and completion of any genuine being is its being-at-work" (energeia). ...since in nature one thing is the material [ hulē ] for each kind [ genos ] (this is what is in potency all the particular things of that kind) but it is something else that is the causal and productive thing by which all of them are formed, as is the case with an art in relation to its material, it is necessary in the soul [ psuchē ] too that these distinct aspects be present; the one sort is intellect [ nous ] by becoming all things, the other sort by forming all things, in the way an active condition [ hexis ] like light too makes the colors that are in potency be at work as colors [to phōs poiei ta dunamei onta chrōmata energeiai chrōmata]. Knowledge [epistēmē], in its being-at-work, is the same as the thing it knows, and while knowledge in potency comes first in time in any one knower, in the whole of things it does not take precedence even in time. Act and potency are dichotomous and parasitic in nature. [48], There was an adaptation of at least one aspect of Aristotle's potentiality and actuality distinction, which has become part of modern physics, although as per Bacon's approach it is a generalized form of energy, not one connected to specific forms for specific things. [49] Leibniz wrote: [50]. [10] In practice, most commentators and translators consider the two words to be interchangeable. Nous, sometimes equated to intellect or intelligence, is a term from classical philosophy for the faculty of the human mind necessary for understanding what is true or real. Potentiality is of bounded but indeterminate possibilities, of what might be but is not yet.. 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