The Priority of the Act: A Practical Assessment

Abstract

This paper examines the theory of the priority of actuality over potentiality from a practical-anthropological perspective. It takes as its
starting point Enrico Berti’s reflections on the “problematic nature of becoming”, as set out in the third chapter of his Introduction to Metaphysics. The analysis will evaluate the strength of the Aristotelian-Thomistic thesis that actuality is the proper object of the desiderative faculty. Finally, the paper will explore the philosophical and political implications of this thesis.