entelechy

n. in philosophy and metaphysics, actuality or realization as opposed to potentiality. Aristotle used the word to refer to the soul (psyche), seen as that form within the material being by virtue of which it achieves the actuality of its nature (see actual). Later philosophers employed the term in a similar vein. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz referred to monads as being entelechy, or having entelechy, defined as the power to perfect their given nature (see nisus). In certain vitalist philosophies and theories, entelechy refers to the vital force within an organism that allows for life, development, and self-fulfillment (see élan vital; vitalism).

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Psychology term of the day

November 24th 2024

cause

1. an event or state that brings about another (its effect).

2. in Aristotelian and rationalist philosophy, an entity or event that is a requirement for another entity or event’s coming to be. Aristotle proposed that there were four types of cause—material, formal, efficient, and final. In the case of a sculpture, for example, the material cause is the stone or metal from which it is made, the formal cause is the form or structure that it takes, the efficient cause is the sculptor, and the final cause is the sculptor’s aim or purpose in making it. —causal adj.