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Single Idea 12941

[filed under theme 8. Modes of Existence / C. Powers and Dispositions / 6. Dispositions / b. Dispositions and powers ]

Full Idea

Where will one ever find in the world a faculty consisting in sheer power without performing an act? There is always a particular disposition to action, and towards one action rather than another.

Gist of Idea

There cannot be power without action; the power is a disposition to act

Source

Gottfried Leibniz (New Essays on Human Understanding [1704], 2.01)

Book Ref

Leibniz,Gottfried: 'New Essays on Human Understanding', ed/tr. Remnant/Bennett [CUP 1996], p.110

A Reaction

This is muddled. Leibniz defends powers in the possibilities of things, but he must then accept that some possibilities may never be realised, as with two complex chemicals which never ever come into contact with one another.

The 13 ideas with the same theme [relation of dispositions to underlying active powers]:

12941 There cannot be power without action; the power is a disposition to act [Leibniz]
12312 The real essence of a thing is its powers, or 'dispositional properties' [Copi]
12686 Causal powers are a proper subset of the dispositional properties [Ellis]
13596 A causal power is a disposition to produce forces [Ellis]
13599 Powers are dispositions of the essences of kinds that involve them in causation [Ellis]
8548 Dispositional predicates ascribe powers, and the rest ascribe properties [Shoemaker]
11939 If powers only exist when actual, they seem to be nomadic, and indistinguishable from non-powers [Molnar]
14314 If dispositions are powers, background conditions makes it hard to say what they do [Mumford]
14325 Maybe dispositions can replace powers in metaphysics, as what induces property change [Mumford]
23774 There are basic powers, which underlie dispositions, potentialities, capacities etc [Williams,NE]
23791 Dispositions are just useful descriptions, which are explained by underlying powers [Williams,NE]
14536 We say 'power' and 'disposition' are equivalent, but some say dispositions are manifestable [Mumford/Anjum]
16738 Scholastics reject dispositions, because they are not actual, as forms require [Pasnau]