ABOUT THE PASSAGE IN METAPHYSICS Θ 6.1048B18-35: A RESPONSE

Abstract

This paper reconsiders Metaphysics Θ 6.1048b18-35 the controversial passage about ἐνέργεια vs. κίνησις, at the intersection of textual transmission, grammatical articulation, and ontological interpretation. Special attention is devoted to the program of Book Θ, which announces a reconsideration of δύναμις rather than a privileged treatment of ἐνέργεια, and to the specifically Aristotelian conception of actuality as a relational determination (ἐνεργείᾳ, κατ’ ἐνέργειαν). From this perspective, the passage introduces a mode of speaking about ἐνέργεια that sits uneasily with the relational ontology articulated in Θ 1-5. The paper further reassesses appeals to Plotinus and Theophrastus, arguing that conceptual continuity does not entail textual attestation, and examines the manuscript evidence and the status of the passage within Byzantine transmission. Taken together, these considerations suggest that Θ 6.1048b18-35 is best understood not as an original component of Aristotle’s Metaphysics, but as a significant witness to an intermediate, neoplatonizing phase in the reception and transformation of Aristotelian ontology.