Makin renders energeia as “actuality” (“actually” in the adverbial dative). As Makin has anticipated (166-67), the study of this book could help many bioethicists profitably refine their use of terms like “potential” and “possible.” I. It is hard to disagree with his apparent assumption that Aristotle scholars already want to consider this book and that he need motivate only those not already drawn to Aristotle. He tries to appeal to “readers who are not predisposed to be interested in Aristotle and to give those readers a way into Θ” (xxii). Avoiding or “finessing” (e.g., xxii, 66, 227) historical questions in favor of conceptual ones seems to be a deliberate strategy. He proceeds by formulating claims from the text and then analyzing their meaning, supporting argumentation, and implications in relation to issues of interest or other Aristotelian claims. Generally, his interpretation is conceptual rather than historical. Makin charts a path through the text and genuinely engages with its arguments (xx). The fifteen-page translation of Aristotle’s central text on potentiality and actuality paired with some 285 pages of commentary (including the introduction) strikes a fair balance. Stephen Makin has produced an interesting and demanding contribution to the Clarendon Aristotle Series: Metaphysics Theta.
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