POTENCY AND ACT
POTENCY AND ACT
It is a division of being
which is analogical. It is a metaphysical analogy of being which is not based
on sensible but on the division of being into perfect and imperfect, bringing a
new understanding of being. Change or motion is from imperfect to perfect, from
potency to act and it leads us to the first principal cause which is purely
actuality and it is infinite since it has no motion.
Universal motion of
potency is in metaphysics is drawn from the following;
1. Active
principle really existing in things, the ability to effect change in others
2. Passive
potency known through the active since the change in subject with passive
potency is due to active principle.
ACT
Act is a correlative
principle of being with potency which refers to the perfection that comes to
things in a state of potency. Act is related to perfection while potency to
imperfection.
Act according to Aquinas
is the greatest of all perfections or the actuality of all things.
There are two analogous
terms of act;
a. Act
as perfection
b. Act
as movement
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