Ideas from 'Letters to Fardella' by Gottfried Leibniz [1690], by Theme Structure

[found in 'Leibniz Akademie Edition' by Leibniz,Gottfried (ed/tr [Berlin Akademie]) [Berline Akademie 1999,]].

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8. Modes of Existence / C. Powers and Dispositions / 2. Powers as Basic
The soul is not a substance but a substantial form, the first active faculty
                        Full Idea: The soul, properly and accurately speaking, is not a substance, but a substantial form, or the primitive form existing in substances, the first act, the first active faculty.
                        From: Gottfried Leibniz (Letters to Fardella [1690], A6.4.1670), quoted by Daniel Garber - Leibniz:Body,Substance,Monad 2
                        A reaction: In all of Leibniz's many gropings towards what is at the heart of a unified object, I pounce on the phrase "the first active faculty" as the one that suits me. I take that to be a 'power'. It has two characteristics - it is active, and it is basic.