Potentia

Reinelm · Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 9:00 pm Post subject: Potentia

I have been reading some Aristotelian Natural Philosophy and it struck me that the notion of Potential as used in the Integral Theology requires some more attention.

The concept of the Evolution and Involution has proven very useful in understanding the concept of Potential, but more can be said about it. According to the Natural Philosophy from Aristotle there are some distinctions between the different kinds of Potentia:

Potentia logica

This is equivalent to pure logical possibility. This is the broadest interpretation of Potential.

Potentia naturalis

This is the potential that refers to the natural physical world around us. It is the potentia logica bound by the rules of physical actualization. It also refers in a sense to the natural state of something material.

Potentia neutra

This is a more refined interpretation and is more applicable to the Integral Theory. The best explanation is a good example in this case. A block of marble is in potentia neutra of having the shape of a grande statue. The block of marble may be shaped into many different things by many different forces, but this one image of beautiful statue is a special case. This potentia can only be actualized by natural causes.

Potentia obedientalis

Divine or supernatural powers are able to actualize any potentia obedientalis. This potential stands apart from the others for some reasons. First of all, it does not mean any natural state or any potential state that could be brought about by any natural force, be it the rain or the hand of Man. So it can not be considered neutra or naturalis. Secondly, it is not mere potentia logica, because than it would the same as any fantastic image anybody could ever dream of. To set this on the same level of a potential to realized by supernatural powers, well...

So here we have a very short introduction to the notion of Potential according to the Aristotelian tradition. Naturally, there is more to be said on this matter, since it is part of a much larger system of thought. (motus, actus) But what do you think of this? Is it a viable categorisation of the notion of potential?
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Kind regards,

-Reinelm

"Seeking the Unavoidable"