Eram Sum Ero.
Oremus Mare.
I believe in you.
March 16, 2025
I. Introduction: The Problem of Potentiality
Throughout philosophy and theology, scholars have debated how possibility and actuality relate to God, creation, and human choice. The problem of potentiality has led to three dominant, yet flawed, metaphysical positions:
- Thomism: Holds that God is Pure Act (actus purus) and that no potentiality exists before creation. However, this creates issues regarding free will, causality, and divine knowledge.
- Open Theism: Argues that God does not fully know future free choices because they do not yet exist. However, this limits divine omniscience and implies that God learns over time.
- Modal Realism: Suggests that all possible worlds exist in parallel, rendering possibility as an infinite set of real, coexisting realities rather than a structured potency.
Each of these frameworks faces insurmountable contradictions. Divine Potentialism offers a new solution by presenting Pure Potency as a structured aspect of divine energy, ensuring that potential is real but does not compete with actuality. This paper defends Divine Potentialism as the strongest model for understanding reality, causality, and divine omniscience.
II. Defining Divine Potentialism
1. Pure Potency as a Universal Energy of God
Divine Potentialism asserts that Pure Potency exists as a structured universal within divine energy. This means:
- Potentiality is real but not physical – It is not an abstract realm, nor is it composed of separate worlds.
- Only one world actualizes – Potential exists within God’s structured knowledge but does not unfold into competing realities.
- Willful Futures define possible choices – These are real, structured possibilities embedded in divine energy, available for actualization by divine or human will.
Thus, Pure Potency is neither an independent force nor an illusion. Instead, it is the structured potential for actualization, ensuring that free will and causality operate within divine omniscience.