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⚖️ An action 💭 Full reality
actus

actus

9.9
The state of being fully real rather than only possible
  • noun
  • /ˈæktəs/
  • Formal
translation icon : actus
  • God alone is, in the scholastic phrase, actus purus, and he alone is entirely without body.

Examples

  • In philosophy, the concept of actus describes a being that is completely realized and not just potential.

  • Understanding the actus helps students differentiate between what exists in potential versus what is fully actualized.

  • In the tradition derived from Scholasticism, faith refers either analogically to the power of faith (virtue fide) or univocally to the explicit act of faith (actus fide).

    Academic text (1991)

  • The philosopher argued that the actus of a person reflects their realization of true potential.

Synonyms

actuality
vsactus
26 6.5

The state of being real rather than possible

is the philosophical condition of being fully realized rather than general existence
entelechy
vsactus
  • Formal
9.9

A state when something becomes fully what it can be

is the general state of being fully realized rather than essence focus

Compounds

actus reus
  • Formal
9.9

An illegal physical action someone does rather than their thoughts

How Actual

actus
  • Formal
9.9
actualization
  • US
7 7.5
becoming
1 5.3
potentiality
4 7.2

Surface Forms

actus singular
actūs plural
actūs singular

Etymology

Actus in philosophy comes from Latin and literally means 'being in act', and it is the root of the English words actual and actuality. So it describes something that is 'fully real' or realized, not just possible.