CHANGING THINGS: ARISTOTLE ON ACTION AND THE CAPACITY FOR ACTION IN METAPHYSICS  5 (original) (raw)

I Introduction: The capacity for change and the capacity for action Phidias, in producing a sculpture, is acting. He is producing a sculpture by producing changes in stone, through movements and changes in his own body. We change things in part because we are things that can act on other things, and which in turn possess the capacity to be acted on. In short, we are changing things. But action also requires an end towards which motion or change are directed by our decision to act thus and so: in Phidias' case the finished statue. These requirements are inscribed into the capacity for actions, as a subclass of capacities for change. Our capacity for action places us firmly in the world of material bodies. On the surface, in Metaphysics  5, Aristotle does not discuss action-he simply discusses the capacity for change quite generally. The background to these reflections on  5 is that Aristotle thinks, that a changing world is necessary for action. To give an account of action we need to refer to capacities for change and their actualisation. Furthermore, the agent must be part of this changing world, and able to have an effect on it. Some events that we would call "actions" have the status of changes in Aristotle's Metaphysics. Correspondingly, the capacity for action is a capacity for change, and the action is a change. It is sometimes said that Aristotle has no proper place in his ontology for human action; but the claim I wish to present in this paper is that he does. 1 This suggestion can be buttressed by the physical theory of De anima and De motu animalium. Indeed, the 1 This paper is a revised version of that given at the Sorbonne on 8 th November 2003. I am indebted to the discussion on that occasion, especially with P-M. Morel, D. Lefebvre, M. Crubellier and B. Besnier. It is a pleasure to record my gratitude for the invitation to speak and for the ensuing discussion. T. Buchheim's, J. Hübner's and M. Burnyeat's criticism was also invaluable. Books of the Metaphysics (Met.) are referred to using the usual Greek letters. Chapters of  are referred to either as e.g. Ch. 3, or as  3.