potentia in actum

jsqu...@gmail.com

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Mar 19, 2012, 12:13:50 PM3/19/12

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"potentia in actum" is a term used by Spinoza which,
I believe, traces back to similar uses by St. Thomas
Aquinas. When Spinoza is translated to English,
the phrase usually comes out as "potency-in-act",
or, much worse, as "potency in act". Both
semantically and syntactically these seem bad.

I believe that more, often than not, jargon simply
does not translate well.

In the senses St. Thomas uses "actum" in
"potentia in actum" in his proofs of the existence
of God, should one think of
"actum" as a ppp, 'what has been done',
or simply as an accusative form of actus,
'driving'?

Johannes Patruus

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Mar 19, 2012, 12:55:30 PM3/19/12

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Google also finds the phrase with "actu" in place of "actum", though with
what, if any, differentiation of meaning I know not.

"Potentia in actu" is rendered "potentiality on its way to actuality" on
this page -
http://www.petericepudding.com/meijerartone2.htm

That is all.

Patruus

Ed Cryer

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Mar 19, 2012, 1:27:15 PM3/19/12

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Look up Aristotle on "actuality and potentiality".
"Potentia" is the Latin for δuναμις (dynamis).

Ed

Johannes Patruus

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Mar 19, 2012, 2:13:27 PM3/19/12

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Chadwick's Latin-English Lexicon, which seems to have gone AWOL from the
TTT, has the following -

POTENTIA -ae, f. 1 Strength, vigour, energy, powers: quod -a ejus (sc.
Simsonis) constaret in crinibus ejus SS 49.2; -a naturalis AC 7011;
promptus erit ad restitutionem...omni -a sua LI 6; (of the Lord) quod Ipse
illud (sc. humanum) e ex propria -a Divinum fecerit AC 6716.2; fugere mala
sicut a se ipso ex -a Domini LI 31.

2 A specific capacity or power: facultates seu -ae recipiendi verum AC
5623.1; AC 6343.1; quod homo...in -a contra mala et falsa...sit TR 68;
apparet...sicut Petro data sit illa -a AE 9.2. b sexual potency: quid vita
amoris illius nisi ex vena -ae? CL 44.8; in supereminente -a sunt CL 55.7.

3 Control over others, authority, power: perplures qui in -a, dignitate et
opulentia vixerunt AC 995.4; quod sensualia...apparerent illis sicut in -a
super omnia SS 13.

4 (of things) The ability to exert influence, capacity, power verum
scientificum...valuit supra -am dcctrinae falsi ex malo AC 6770; Divino
Vero inest -a in se HH 137.3; -a amori est per sapientiam CL 21.2.

5 Latent capacity, potentiality: inde illis non rationalitas in facultate
seu in -a est amplius DP 227.5; quod in Domino...fuerint bini gradus
priores actualiter, et tertius gradus in -a LW 233.

6 (in mathematics) The power (of a number): in -a subtriplicata TR 168.

7 A person or thing capable of exerting influence, power: cum
baculis...qui illis...inserviunt pro -is AC 7026; quod angeli...sint
-ae...notum est AC 9410.5; quod humanae mentes...sint merae -ae 1AD 943.

> Ed

Patruus

Ed Cryer

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Mar 19, 2012, 4:23:26 PM3/19/12

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Come sir, and tell me how doth an acorn become an oak tree?
Prithee sirrah, I know not.
Well sir, an acorn contains the potentiality to become an oak tree.
So be it sirrah.
All men, sir, have the potential to become an emperor.
I do grant thee the therefore, good sir.
And wherein doth this potentiality consist? It consists, sir, in the
very construction of the world. It is made that way. All things aim at
other things; they would fain change into something superior.

Enter a modern scientist.
Ah yes, what you mean are genes; genes and several natural processes,
including photosynthesis. The little busy enzymes at work, and
cell-division. And chemical reactions of various sorts.
Well, good man from the future, I do give thee a good day.
You should have given greater credence to the atomic theory of
Democritus, Aristotle. That was taken up by the Epicureans, and is still
with us.

Ed

Johannes Patruus

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Mar 19, 2012, 4:51:41 PM3/19/12

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The Universe-as-we-know-it must necessarily have existed as a potentiality
in the "singularity" from which it putatively originated.

So if the Universe-as-we-know-it is a big miracle, the singularity is an
even bigger one.

> Ed

Patruus

jsqu...@gmail.com

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Mar 19, 2012, 4:54:02 PM3/19/12

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On Mar 19, 12:23 pm, Ed Cryer <e...@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:
> Johannes Patruus wrote:
> > On 19/03/2012 17:27, Ed Cryer wrote:

Thanks. You have said much what NAgArjuna
says with his famous dictum

"there are no independent arisings"

jsqu...@gmail.com

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Mar 19, 2012, 4:58:58 PM3/19/12

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I'll see if Amazon has this dict. It looks to be
a handy ref.

Thanks.

BTW, I have inclined to the opinion that
"actum" in "potentia in actum" is the
4th decl. noun "actus", not the past
participle of "ago". The difference, at
my level of understanding, however, is
minor. In "potentia in actu", it seems that
there can be no question; actu is the
abl. 4th decl. actus.

Evertjan.

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Mar 19, 2012, 6:13:29 PM3/19/12

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jsqu...@gmail.com wrote on 19 mrt 2012 in alt.language.latin:

> BTW, I have inclined to the opinion that
> "actum" in "potentia in actum" is the
> 4th decl. noun "actus", not the past
> participle of "ago". The difference, at
> my level of understanding, however, is
> minor. In "potentia in actu", it seems that
> there can be no question; actu is the
> abl. 4th decl. actus.

Equivalent to:

"impotentia in inactu"

["use it or lose it"]

?

--
Evertjan.
The Netherlands.
(Please change the x'es to dots in my emailaddress)

Johannes Patruus

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Mar 19, 2012, 6:25:39 PM3/19/12

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On 19/03/2012 20:58, jsqu...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Mar 19, 10:13 am, Johannes Patruus<inva...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>>
>> Chadwick's Latin-English Lexicon, which seems to have gone AWOL from the
>> TTT, has the following -
>

> I'll see if Amazon has this dict. It looks to be
> a handy ref.

I've located its lurking-place in the Internet Archive -
http://web.archive.org/web/20060709023844/http://www.ancts.org/resources/chadwick/

It might be convenient to save all the pages on your HDD.

Patruus

Message has been deleted

Ed Cryer

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Mar 20, 2012, 8:24:36 AM3/20/12

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Cave metaphysica.
Cave viam verbis superstratam.

Edus