An Ontological Vision of Potency and Power
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24310/Metyper.2018.v0i19.4836Keywords:
Active potency, Physical (or material) potency, Formal potency, Rational potency, Empowerment, Power, Worldly potency, Freedom, Being.Abstract
Potency, understood as an active capacity of producing something, has several ana-logical meanings. This article aims to display them within an ontological framework. The lower level is physical power (material potency), and it is objectified in modern physics basically in the notion of energy. In the biological level, active potency is manifested as a formal power which is the root of vital operations. Formal potentialities can be empowered, in life, enabling the phenomenon of growth. The upper form of active potency in the universe is human free will. Nevertheless, human power is subjected to several limitations and it includes weakness. The potency of doing evil is a lack of potency regarding truth and good. It is suggested in what sense active potency could be considered a transcenden-tal of being.
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