He defines “potency as not only the definitive agent of change in other things or the things that are in this case, is referred to as another, but the overall principle of movement or rest” ( Cat. vii 17).įrom this description of the various situations in which something can be described as being ‘prior’, Aristotle asserts that actuality is before potency. Lastly, something can be referred to be ‘prior’ naturally if it is better and naturally honorable ( Met. In science, the term can be used to refer to something posterior to another. Thirdly, the word prior can be used to refer to order as in science or conversation. This way ‘one’ can be said to be before ‘two’, for if ‘two’ is there then it implies that ‘one’ is there too. Secondly, a thing can be before another if the sequence of their occurrence is nonreversible.

First, he uses time in which he says that something can be regarded as being prior if it is older than another ( Cat. He asserts that four senses exist in which something can be described to be prior. The actuality is before potencyĪristotle begins this part by defining the word prior. This paper will begin off by giving a brief description of the two arguments. Specifically, his metaphysical argument that proposes that actuality is before potency will be compared to his rational argument in ethics where a man is not considered to be virtuous until he has acquired the knowledge and innate tendencies to therefore are virtuous ( EN 1098a161–17). In this paper, his arguments in metaphysics and ethics will be analyzed and compared. His philosophical writings cover several different areas such as metaphysics, logic, ethics, and science. His writings are by far the most and the earliest scripts that form a complete system that forms the basis of western philosophy. As such he can be regarded as one of the most significant founding fathers of western philosophy. Aristotle was a Greek philosopher whose writings covered many different subjects.

Aristotle and metaphysics