Entelechy, according to Aristotle, is an inner force that potentially contains the goal as well as the final result. For example, thanks to this phenomenon, a walnut tree grows.
Metaphysics
Entelechy in philosophy is a phenomenon that corresponds to the ideas of Kabbalah, which speak of the content of the goal in the very idea of creation. The term, first of all, belongs to the context of the teachings of Aristotle, where he speaks of the act and potency. Entelechy is an important part of metaphysics. Also, this phenomenon has a close relationship with the doctrine of existence, matter, movement and form.
Energy
Entelechy in philosophy is the realization of the possibilities and abilities that are inherent in this being. This phenomenon is identical in many respects to energy. It is mainly about being for inanimate objects and about life for living beings. This phenomenon is opposed to potency. Entelechy is a term that is made up of the Greek words "fulfillment", "complete" and "I have". We are talking about the actual being, which precedes the potential. This concept acquired special significance in the psychology of Aristotle.
Substance
The first entelechy is life or soul. It is this phenomenon that endows the object with consciousness. As the engine and form of the body, the soul cannot be corporeal.
According to Democritus, it is not a specific substance. Here it is appropriate to turn to Empedocles. He argued that the soul cannot be a displacement of all substances. He explained this by the fact that two bodies are not capable of occupying a single place. At the same time, the concept of entelechy suggests that the soul cannot be incorporeal either.
The Pythagoreans mistakenly believed that she was the harmony of the body. Plato, mistakenly, argued that it is a self-moving number. Another definition is considered more correct. The soul itself does not move, it “pushes” another body. A living being is not simply composed of a soul and a body. According to the concept of philosophy, things are different.
The soul is the force that acts through the body. It remains to deal with the second concept. Based on the foregoing, it can be noted that the body is a natural instrument for the soul. These phenomena are inseparable. They can be compared with the eye and vision. Each soul corresponds to a body. It arises due to its power and for its sake. In addition, the body is arranged as an instrument that is most suitable for the activities of a particular soul.
Here it is worth remembering Pythagoras. It is for the reason described above that the teaching of this philosopher about the transmigration of souls is absurd for Aristotle. He put forward a theory that is opposite to the ideas of the ancient natural philosophers. They took the soul out of the corporeal nature. Aristotledid the opposite. He takes the body out of the separate soul. Therefore, strictly speaking, for him only the animate is truly real, entelechial. This idea is mentioned in such works as "On Parts of Animals", "Metaphysics", "On the Soul".
It should be remembered that only an organic body can be animated. We are talking about a holistic mechanism, all elements of which have a specific purpose and are designed to perform the assigned functions. This is the principle of the unity of the organism. For the sake of this, it arose, functions and exists. The described law also includes the term "entelechy", which is equivalent to the soul. It cannot be separated from the body. The soul is one in existence. An organic living being can be defined as being because it contains a purpose within itself.
Middle Ages and Modern Times
Entelechy is a term coined by Aristotle. At the same time, it is found in Hermolai Barbara in the Middle Ages. He conveys this concept using the Latin word perfectihabia.
Now let's turn to the philosophy of the New Age. Here the term is released from Aristotle's doctrine of act and potency. The concept is one of the keywords of organicistic and teleological understanding. It is opposed to the mechanistic causal way of explaining the surrounding world. This phenomenon emphasizes the originality of expediency, as well as individuality. According to this concept, it turns out that each being is oriented by an internal device towards a goal. It strives for it itself and for the sake ofmyself. Leibniz also mentions this term. He calls them monads, confirming the theory with biological doctrine.
