Essay on Change Occurs

Submitted By DmitriGarlic
Words: 606
Pages: 3

1. Change occurs
2. Change is where a potential inherent to an object is actualized
3. A potential requires something that is already actual to actualize it; in other words a causer
4. These actualizers and potentials can form chains or causal series (A then B then C)
5. There are two main types of causal series, the linear and the hierarchical
6. A linear chain is where each object in the series is changed in such a way that it can continue to cause changes in other objects even after the first changer has ceased to exist (fire)
7. A hierarchical chain is where each object's ability to change other objects is derived from a first member (cat and mirror)
8. Any given material object is a composite of matter and form (the properties and arrangement of the matter)
9. Matter cannot possibly not have form since it would then have no properties and thus wouldn't exist
10. A given object can lose its form (in other words the underlying matter will change form)
11. This means that the object no longer exists
12. Any object that can lose its form can cease to exist
13. Since an object can lose its form, it can potentially not exist
14. Since it can fail to exist, its existence must be derived from another
15. Therefore the actualization of a things potential to exist must be a hierarchical causal series (ex. water)
16. This first member must impart the ability to exist to the object without having a potential to exist that would need to be actualized
17. Thus it would be the ultimate source of the existence of the objects and would have to be Subsistent Being or something that doesn't just exist but just is existence
18. Something that is Subsistent being would have nothing lacking in its existence since it is existence
19. Thus it could have no potentials that are in need of actualization
20. Thus it would be pure actuality
21. This pure actuality or unactualized actualizer would be unchanging since change requires a potential to be actualized and pure actuality has no potentials
22. Power is the ability to actualize potential
23. Since the first cause actualizes everything that exists it must be all powerful
24. Time requires change from moment to moment
25. Since pure actuality is unchanging it will be eternal
26. Since matter always has the potential to change form, pure actuality would be immaterial
27. Imperfection is unactualized potential
28. Since pure actuality has no unactualized