Question

In Aquinas’ arguments offered in this section, motion was not movement from one place to another but rather movement from potentiality to actuality, i.e, becoming. Using the acorn and the oak, describe what happens as a being moves from becoming to actuality within Aquinas’s metaphysics. What role does purpose play in motion? What role does God play?

a) The being transforms without a purpose, God plays no role.
b) The being transforms from potentiality to actuality, with purpose guiding this transition. God sets the purpose.
c) The being transforms naturally without purpose, God directs the process.
d) The being transforms without purpose, but God ensures the completion of the process.

Answer 1

Thomas Aquinas's metaphysical concept of motion is a transition from potentiality to actuality, exemplified by the growth of an acorn into an oak tree, which is guided by purpose or telos. God plays a pivotal role in this philosophy as the First Cause or Unmoved Mover who initiates and directs all things to their intended ends.

Step-by-step explanation:

Thomas Aquinas's Concept of Motion and Actuality

In the metaphysics of Thomas Aquinas, motion is not merely physical relocation but encompasses the actualization of potential. This can be illustrated by the transformation of an acorn into an oak tree. The acorn, which symbolizes potentiality, moves towards becoming a fully actualized oak tree. In this process, what is actual emerges from what is possible — from what could be to what is.

The concept of telos, or purpose, is intrinsic to motion. Each being pursues its end, driven by an inherent purpose, which in the case of an oak tree, is the growth from an acorn to its perfect form as an oak tree. Teleology thus guides the process of becoming.

God plays a critical role as the First Cause or Unmoved Mover in Aquinas's philosophy. He is the originator of motion, setting all potentialities on their path to actualization without being moved Himself. God as the necessary being causes contingent beings to exist and directs them toward their ultimate purposes. In Aristotle's view, everything strives to realize its full potential, echoing in Aquinas's identification of God as the one who imparts motion and directs all toward their final causes.