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Ch4 - The Being of Potency

Potency as Source

The core sense of potency is its character as a particular kind of source. So in order to grasp that core sense, it would be instructive for us, first, to grasp how Aristotle accounts for the being of a source in general. We may then see what distinguishes potency as a source, first by examining the conditions in which it acts, and second by examining its complex relationship to what it achieves. Finally, if potency implies reality, what is this reality like?

To be a source is to be something in particular that necessarily and immediately sets to work. Aristotle describes sources as follows: "…what is common to all sources is to be the first thing from which something is or comes to be or is known; of these some are present within while others outside" (Met. V.1 1013a18-20). While Aristotle distinguishes the sorts of things that count as sources, he does not provide an independent description of what they are or how they act. This makes sense if a source is always a particular source.

Thankfully, sourcehood is visible in A

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What makes a thing a thing? Why reality has to be built from the bottom up as well as from the top down

In this post, I shall attempt to get to the nub of a vital but often overlooked point of difference between Intelligent Design theory and some of its Thomist critics. The issue relates to precisely what it is that makes a thing a thing, and not just a virtual imitation of a thing. I’m also going to talk about Harry Potter, so stay tuned.

What I shall attempt to argue is that the concept of “top-down creation” is unintelligible. Things have to also be made from the bottom up: in order to create something, de novo, you have to fully specify what it is that you’re creating. That means filling in all the details.

More generally, what I’m claiming is that in order for a thing to be a genuine entity in its own right (and not just a virtual imitation of an entity), it has to be fully specified, at all levels, from the bottom to the top. Recently, Professor Edward Feser and Professor Chistopher Martin (who are both Thomist philosophers

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Metaphysics 1888009039, 1888009020

Citation preview

Aristotle’s

Metaphysics a new translation by

Joe Sachs

Green Lion Press Santa Fe, New Mexico

© copyright 1999, 2002 by Green Lion Press.

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