Axiomathes 14:3-22 (2004)
Authors |
|
Abstract |
Aristotle's conception of being is dynamic. He believes that a thing is most itself when engaged in its proper activities, governed by its nature. This paper explores this idea by focusing on Metaphysics , a text that continues the investigation of substantial being initiated inMetaphysics Z. Q.1 claims that there are two potentiality-actuality distinctions, one concerned with potentiality in the strict sense, which is involved in change, the other concerned with potentiality in another sense, which he says is more useful for the present project. His present project is the investigation of substantial being, and the relevant potentiality is the potentiality for activity, the full manifestation of what a thing is. I explore Aristotle's two potentiality-actuality distinctions AND argue that the second distinction is modeled on the first, with one crucial modification. Whereas a change is brought about by something other than the object or by the object itself considered as other (as when a doctor cures himself), an activity is brought about byte object itself considered as itself. This single modification yields an important difference: whereas a change leads to a state other than the one an object was previously in, an activity maintains or develops what an object already is.
|
Keywords | Philosophy Philosophy Logic Ontology Linguistics Cognitive Psychology |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
DOI | 10.1023/B:AXIO.0000006786.83104.eb |
Options |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Download options
References found in this work BETA
Aristotle’s Theory of Substance: The Categories and Metaphysics Zeta.Michael V. Wedin - 2000 - Oxford University Press.
Order in Multiplicity: Homonymy in the Philosophy of Aristotle.Christopher Shields - 1998 - Oxford University Press.
View all 13 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
Practical Knowledge, Equal Standing, and Proper Reliance on Others.Carla Bagnoli - 2020 - Theoria 86 (6):821-842.
Similar books and articles
Ways of Being: Potentiality and Actuality in Aristotle’s Metaphysics.Charlotte Witt - 2003 - Cornell University Press.
Senses of Dunamis and the Structure of Aristotle’s Metaphysics Θ1.Andreas Anagnostopoulos - 2011 - Phronesis 56 (4):388-425.
Capacity and Potentiality: Aristotle’s Metaphysics Θ.6–7 From the Perspective of the De Anima.Thomas K. Johansen - 2012 - Topoi 31 (2):209-220.
Analytics
Added to PP index
2009-01-28
Total views
139 ( #82,817 of 2,497,800 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
29 ( #30,140 of 2,497,800 )
2009-01-28
Total views
139 ( #82,817 of 2,497,800 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
29 ( #30,140 of 2,497,800 )
How can I increase my downloads?
Downloads