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Plotinos (2); Complete Works, in Chronological Order, Grouped in Four Periods
Plotinos Complete Works in Chronological Order Grouped in Four Periods - 2 Author:Plotinus Volume: 2 General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1918 Original Publisher: Comparative Literature Press Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million... more »-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: SECOND ENNEAD, BOOK FIVE. Of the Aristotelian Distinction Between Actuality and Potentiality. QUESTIONS TO BE DISCUSSED. 1. (Aristotle) spoke of (things) existing "potentially," and "actually"; and actuality is spoken of as a "being." We shall, however, have to examine this potential and actual existence; and whether this actual existence be the same as actuality, and whether this potential existence be identical with potentiality; also, whether these conceptions differ so that what exists actually be not necessarily actuality. It is evident that among sense-objects there exist things potentially. Are there also such among the intelligibles? This then is the problem: whether the intelligibles exist only actually; and on the hypothesis of the existence among intelligibles of something existing potentially, whether, because of its eternity, this always remains there in potentiality; and, because it is outside of time, never arrives to actuality. DEFINITION OF POTENTIALITY. Let us first define potentiality. When a thing is said to exist potentially, this means that it does not exist absolutely. Necessarily, what' exists potentially is potential only in relation to something else; for example, metal is the statue potentially. Of course, if nothing were to be done with this thing, or within it, if it were not to become something beyond itself, if there were no possibility of its becoming anything else, it would only be what it was already. How could it then become something different from what it was? It did not, therefore, exist potentially. C...« less