Potentiality and actuality Principles in the philosophy of Aristotle The concept of potentiality, in this context, generally refers to any "possibility" that a thing can be said to have. Aristotle did not consider all possibilities the same, and emphasized the importance of those that become real of their own accord when conditions are right and nothing stops them.[3] Actuality, in contrast to potentiality, is the motion, change or activity that represents an exercise or fulfillment of a possibility, when a possibility becomes real in the fullest sense.[4] Both these concepts therefore reflect Aristotle's belief that events in nature are not all natural in a true sense. As he saw it, many things happen accidentally, and therefore not according to the natural purposes of things. "Potentiality" and "potency" are translations of the Ancient Greek word dunamis (δύναμις). Dunamis is an ordinary Greek word for possibility or capability. Entelechy (entelechia) [edit] 1. 2. 3. The active intellect Post-Aristotelian usage
Teleology in biology Use of language of goal-directedness in the context of evolutionary adaptation Nevertheless, biologists still often write about evolution as if organisms had goals, and some philosophers of biology such as Francisco Ayala and biologists such as J. B. Phrases used by biologists like "a function of ... is to ..." or "is designed for" are teleological at least in language. Goal-directed evolution [edit] Natural selection, introduced in 1859 as the central mechanism[a] of evolution by Charles Darwin, is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype.[23] The mechanism directly implies evolution, a change in heritable traits of a population over time.[24] Status in evolutionary biology Reasons for discomfort Firstly, the concept of adaptation is itself controversial, as it can be taken to imply, as the evolutionary biologists Stephen J. Removable teleological shorthand Some philosophers of biology such as James G. Irreducible teleology William C.
William of Ockham Franciscan friar and theologian in medieval England Sketch labelled "frater Occham iste", from a manuscript of Ockham's Summa Logicae, 1341 William of Ockham (; also Occam, from Latin: Gulielmus Occamus;[9][10] c. 1287 – 1347) was an English Franciscan friar, scholastic philosopher, and theologian, who is believed to have been born in Ockham, a small village in Surrey.[11] He is considered to be one of the major figures of medieval thought and was at the centre of the major intellectual and political controversies of the 14th century. He is commonly known for Occam's razor, the methodological principle that bears his name, and also produced significant works on logic, physics, and theology. In the Church of England, his day of commemoration is 10 April.[12] Life[edit] William of Ockham was born in Ockham, Surrey in 1285. He spent much of the remainder of his life writing about political issues, including the relative authority and rights of the spiritual and temporal powers. Logic[edit]
Straw that broke the camel's back English idiom, the "last straw" The idiom "the straw that broke the camel's back" describes a minor or routine action that causes an unpredictably large and sudden reaction due to the cumulative effect of previous small actions. It alludes to the proverb "it is the last straw that breaks the camel's back". This gives rise to the phrase "the last straw", or "the final straw", meaning that the last one in a line of unacceptable occurrences causes a seemingly sudden and strong reaction. Origins and early uses [edit] The earliest known version of the expression comes in a theological debate on causality by Thomas Hobbes and John Bramhall in 1654–1684: An essay of 1724 emphasizes not the fact of being the last cause, but rather of being a least cause, that is, a minor one: Attested versions of the proverb include, in chronological order: Other variants are:[9] Fallacy of the single cause
Occam's razor Philosophical problem-solving principle In philosophy, Occam's razor (also spelled Ockham's razor or Ocham's razor; Latin: novacula Occami) is the problem-solving principle that recommends searching for explanations constructed with the smallest possible set of elements. It is also known as the principle of parsimony or the law of parsimony (Latin: lex parsimoniae). Attributed to William of Ockham, a 14th-century English philosopher and theologian, it is frequently cited as Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem, which translates as "Entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity",[1][2] although Occam never used these exact words. This philosophical razor advocates that when presented with competing hypotheses about the same prediction and both hypotheses have equal explanatory power, one should prefer the hypothesis that requires the fewest assumptions,[4] and that this is not meant to be a way of choosing between hypotheses that make different predictions. [edit]
Telos From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Aristototelian concept of full potential; inherent purpose; objective of a person or thing In Aristotle[edit] Telos has been consistently used in the writings of Aristotle, in which the term, on several occasions, denotes 'goal'.[3] It is considered synonymous to teleute ('end'), particularly in Aristotle's discourse about the plot-structure in Poetics.[3] The philosopher went as far as to say that telos can encompass all forms of human activity.[4] One can say, for instance, that the telos of warfare is victory, or the telos of business is the creation of wealth. For Aristotle, these subordinate telos can become the means to achieve more fundamental telos.[4] Through this concept, for instance, the philosopher underscored the importance of politics and that all other fields are subservient to it. Moreover, it can be understood as the "supreme end of man's endeavour".[6] Telos vs techne[edit] In modern philosophy[edit] See also[edit] References[edit]
Physis Greek philosophical and theological term Linguistics[edit] The Greek word physis can be considered the equivalent of the Latin natura. Greek philosophy[edit] Pre-Socratic usage[edit] The word φύσις is a verbal noun based on φύειν "to grow, to appear" (cognate with English "to be").[5] In Homeric Greek it is used quite literally, of the manner of growth of a particular species of plant.[6] In Plato's Laws[edit] Because those who use the term mean to say that nature is the first creative power; but if the soul turns out to be the primeval element, and not fire or air, then in the truest sense and beyond other things the soul may be said to exist by nature; and this would be true if you proved that the soul is older than the body, but not otherwise. — Plato's Laws, Book 10(892c) – translation by Benjamin Jowett Aristotle[edit] Atomists[edit] Christian theology[edit] Usage in patristic theology[edit] Modern usage[edit] See also[edit] References[edit] Sources[edit] External links[edit]
Temporal paradox Theoretical paradox resulting from time travel A temporal paradox, time paradox, or time travel paradox, is a paradox, an apparent contradiction, or logical contradiction associated with the idea of time travel or other foreknowledge of the future. While the notion of time travel to the future complies with the current understanding of physics via relativistic time dilation, temporal paradoxes arise from circumstances involving hypothetical time travel to the past – and are often used to demonstrate its impossibility. Temporal paradoxes fall into three broad groups: bootstrap paradoxes, consistency paradoxes, and Newcomb's paradox.[1] Bootstrap paradoxes violate causality by allowing future events to influence the past and cause themselves, or "bootstrapping", which derives from the idiom "pull oneself up by one's bootstraps Predestination paradox [edit] Grandfather paradox Proposed resolutions Logical impossibility Physical impossibility Self-sufficient loops Novikov self-consistency principle
Hesiod Ancient Greek poet Hesiod (;[1] Greek: Ἡσίοδος Hēsíodos, 'he who emits the voice') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer.[2][3] He is generally regarded as the first written poet in the Western tradition to regard himself as an individual persona with an active role to play in his subject.[4] Ancient authors credited Hesiod and Homer with establishing Greek religious customs.[5] Modern scholars refer to him as a major source on Greek mythology, farming techniques, early economic thought,[6] archaic Greek astronomy and ancient time-keeping. Life[edit] Hesiod and the Muse (1891), by Gustave Moreau. The poet is presented with a lyre, in contradiction to the account given by Hesiod himself in which the gift was a laurel staff. The Dance of the Muses at Mount Helicon by Bertel Thorvaldsen (1807). Various legends accumulated about Hesiod and they are recorded in several sources: Dating[edit] Modern Mount Helicon.
Self-validating reduction A self-validating reduction is kind of self-fulfilling prophecy of which the result is a dramatic reduction in a person, group, or natural being. This term was coined by Anthony Weston and used in his book Back to Earth in 1994.[1] Following Weston's work, Bob Jickling, et al. in Environmental Education, Ethics, and Action (United Nations Education Program (UNEP), 2006) wrote: A self-validating reduction is a self-fulfilling prophecy in which one of the main effects of the "prophecy" is to reduce someone or something in the world. It acts to make that person or thing less than they, or it, are or could be; or it diminishes some part of the world’s richness, depth and promise. Definition and examples [edit] For example, the abolitionist Frederick Douglass pointed out that Ignorance and depravity, and the inability to arise from degradation to civilization and respectability, are the most usual allegations against the oppressed. Other animals and nature Self-fulfilling prophecy
Leucippus From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 5th-century BCE Greek philosopher Leucippus (; Greek: Λεύκιππος, Leúkippos; fl. 5th century BCE) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher who has been credited as the first philosopher to develop a theory of atomism. Leucippus' reputation, even in antiquity, was obscured by the reputation of his much more famous pupil, Democritus, who is also credited with the first development of atomic theory. Few details about Leucippus' life are known, and even his historical existence has on occasion been questioned. Biography[edit] Leucippus's dates are not recorded and he is often mentioned in conjunction with his more well-known pupil Democritus. Philosophical views[edit] "Nothing happens at random, but everything from reason and by necessity." Writings[edit] According to Theophrastus, Leucippus was the author of a work called The Great World System that was otherwise typically attributed to Democritus, which has not survived. Legacy[edit] See also[edit] Notes[edit]
Self-fulfilling prophecy Prediction that causes itself to become true American sociologists W. I. Thomas and Dorothy Swaine Thomas were the first Western scholars to investigate this phenomenon. In 1928, they developed the Thomas theorem (also known as the Thomas dictum): "If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences. An early precursor of the concept appears in Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: "During many ages, the prediction, as it is usual, contributed to its own accomplishment". The phrase "self-fulfilling prophecy" was coined by Robert K. While Merton's example focused on self-fulfilling prophecies within a community, self-fulfilling prophecies also apply to individuals, as individuals often conform to the expectations of others. Philosopher Karl Popper called the self-fulfilling prophecy the Oedipus effect: One of the ideas I had discussed in The Poverty of Historicism was the influence of a prediction upon the event predicted. International relations [edit]
Democritus Greek philosopher (c. 460–c. 370 BC) Democritus (, dim-OCK-rit-əs; Greek: Δημόκριτος, Dēmókritos, meaning "chosen of the people"; c. 460 – c. 370 BC) was an Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from Abdera, primarily remembered today for his formulation of an atomic theory of the universe. None of his work has survived. Life Although many anecdotes about Democritus' life survive, their authenticity cannot be verified and modern scholars doubt their accuracy. Philosophy and science Christopher Charles Whiston Taylor [de] states that the relation between Democritus and his predecessor Leucippus is not clear; while earlier ancient sources such as Aristotle and Theophrastus credit Leucippus with the invention of atomism and credit its doctrines to both philosophers, later sources credit only Democritus, making definitive identification of specific doctrines difficult. Atomic hypothesis We have various quotes from Democritus on atoms, one of them being: Correlation with modern science Mathematics