St. Thomas’ notion of the Limitation of Act by Potency as a Principle of Environmental Ethics
Rainier A. Ibana
Ateneo de Manila University
The limitation of act by potency is a distinctive insight that advances St. Thomas’ intellectual position from the Ancient Greeks wherein the notion of infinite potency was conceived as an imperfection that can only be actualized by the imposition of form on the chaos of matter. With St. Thomas’ insight on the act of existence as the plenitude of perfection that expresses the various modes of being through the limited receptivity of finite beings, however, a more synoptic vision of the universe is achieved wherein the various forms of finite beings are not stripped of their distinctive place in the universe since they can horizontally actualize the particular ways of being that they have received from their vertical participation in the act of being itself.
W. Norris Clarke applied the implications of this grand vision to the realm of the human person and realized that “[St. Thomas] also went further and declared that because of the bond of the rest of the universe with rational beings as its fulfilment, it is possible to love with an altruistic love of charity not only other persons but the whole material universe itself! The new perspective opened on ecology and care for the earth is a rich one” (PBE 52, 100). This paper will take this cue from Fr. Clarke in order to show that an environmental ethics can be derived from St. Thomas’ metaphysical vision, especially from the perspective of his central insight on “the limitation of act by potency.”[i]
The central place of the limitation of act by potency in the Thomistic system
Since God is the only pure act of being with no potency, all created beings must interact, that is, receive from and share their potencies with other beings in a network of relationships that sustain their act of being. This is because the whole “plenitude of being” can never be captured within the limits of our finite essences by ourselves” (PBE 63) and can only transcend the limitations of their finite being with the complementary support of others.
The cycles of nature, for example, demonstrate how ecological niches are balanced by the relationships among preys and predators, consumers and producers. When these balances are disturbed by over consumption, a new equilibrium must be established by adjusting the organisms’ relationships with one another. Dragon fruits, for example, are naturally pollinated at night by bats and moth hawks. When bats are not available, however, other pollinators such as bees serve as substitute pollinators or humans have to perform the pollination by hand.
Finite existence, therefore, requires co-existence. To be is to be related; and ultimately, to be is to be in communion with others. The hierarchy of beings in the Thomistic-aristotelean system, for example, can be interpreted in terms of increasing levels of intensive relationships with other beings. Minerals from the soil, for example are absorbed by plants while the latter are grazed upon by animals and humans. Although animals try to escape from being hunted by humans, they are eventually trapped and by human ingenuity and innovation.
Human beings therefore are at the apex of the material universe because they embody the whole created world and can transform their environments through their faculties of intelligence and freedom. Neither innocent brutes nor disembodied angels can mediate the necessary interventions that can renew the earth in the same manner that environmental degradation, such as global warming, have been decisively attributed to its anthropomorphic origins.
The limitations imposed on the modes of existence of finite beings, moreover, implies that they can provide only what is inherently given to them by nature. We cannot extract more from our environment than what it can possibly offer. Overextending consumption levels beyond the productive capacity of the environment lead to imbalances that could become detrimental to human beings such as in the case of floods and soil erosion. The environment has its own self-regulating mechanisms that adjust and reorganize themselves according to the laws of nature. Humans can mitigate and adjust to the effects of these laws but it cannot violate nor change them.
In a world that is intricately connected to one another, a deprivation inflicted on one part of the world will affect many others. The melting of polar ice caps due to increasing heat trapped in the atmosphere from the exhausts emitted by motor vehicles, for example, can eventually erase island nations from the face of the earth. Ecological problems make us realize that human beings, inspite of their talents and powers, are deeply imbedded in the material universe.
The anthropogenic origin of environmental problems
Pollution and other environmental problems would have been mitigated and reduced if nature’s carrying capacity is not over-extended and the harmful waste products from linear and vertical production lines are reabsorbed, reused and recycled according to the laws of nature. In the language of the limitation of act by potency, this means that the resources of finite beings are exploited to the point where it can no longer sustain itself while excessive wastes can no longer be received and absorbed by natural processes. The balance of receptivity and activity among beings are being tilted on the side of hyperactivity without regard for the capacity of nature to regenerate and receive the burdens imposed on her.
As spiritual beings, humans are capable of transgressing the limitations of the natural world by virtue of their intelligence and freedom. The consequences of these transgressions, however, redound back to problems that must be addressed and resolved also by human innovation, prudence and frugality in order to survive the avalanche of environmental forces that threaten to make life more difficult.
As the specie that claims for wisdom as its epithet, homo-sapiens must become more circumspect about their use of the natural resources in order to continually sustain their own being. The first precept of natural law, afterall, is the preservation of being in accordance with its nature. As rational beings, it is therefore incumbent upon humans to behave in conformity with their knowledge of the limitations of nature and to accordingly adjust their ways of living with the environmental consciousness of the crises confronting the natural world.
Dominus sui
The spiritual transcendence of human beings from nature, however, does not only imply domination, but moreover, a capacity to allow other beings to endure and become what they really are. As the astronaut Michael Collins expressed it when he first stepped on the moon:
When I travelled to the moon, it wasn’t my proximity to that battered
rockpile I remember so vividly,but rather what I saw when I looked back
at my fragile home -- a glistening, inviting beacon, delicate blue and white,
a tiny outpost suspended in the black infinity. Earth is to be treasured and
nurtured, something precious that must endure (Rolston 61).
The earth, the organism that hosts our human life, has its own intricate means of survival that humans can violate only at their own expense. It is therefore important to let the earth and its inhabitants to function according to their essential limitations so that in the end, earthlings, including humans, can support one another in their shared complementary acts of existence.
Human intelligence, therefore, should be at the service of existence not only for the sake of the human species, but also in consideration for other existents whose survival could very well support the survival of human beings. Hospitality for the co-existence of others marks the spiritual depth of human beings whose transcendence from the material world is not only defined by their capacity to dominate nature, but moreover, by their capacity to let other beings be. This reversal of attitudes from that of acquisition and consumption towards hospitality and gratitude for the existence of others marks what it means to be a mature human individual who is not threatened by the fulfilment of others but instead celebrates the successful achievements of others. Human endeavours need not always be at the expense of natural processes but they can work with and along the contours of the natural world. The principle of the limitation of act by potency reminds us that nature can provide for us only that which nature already has.
This further means that human beings must be aware of the limited carrying capacities of ecological niches so that the latter can continue supplying the increasing needs of humanity. We should not kill the goose that lays the proverbial golden egg if we are to continue enjoying the benefits being provided for us by the natural world.
Altruistic love by and for the environment
Inspite of the limitations imposed on finite beings by the natural world, however, no entity is so poor that it cannot share its mode of being to others. Even rocks have their distinctive roles to play in the symbiosis of ecological interactions as they provide shelter from the winds and waters that could erode mountains and hillsides. The minerals in the soil supply the necessary nutrients for plants to produce vegetation for human and animal consumption while animals serve human consumption and even amuse humans as forms of entertainment.
As conscious and deliberate beings, however, human transcendence can cultivate and further enhance the development of the natural world by creating the necessary conditions for life to flourish. Plants, for example, grow much better when exposed to sunlight and fertilized by composts introduced by gardeners and plant lovers. Left on their own, vegetation would have the resiliency to seek light and extract nutrients from the soil. But human interventions, such as relocating plants to sunlit places and introducing organic fertilizers to their soil would allow vegetation to thrive and grow under more ideal conditions. Gardens are appreciated not only for the distinctive plant species that are exhibited by their owners but for the art and care that have been exerted by those who cultivated the plants.
Such simple acts of planting and gardening can go a long way in the mitigation and reversal of environmental problems since plants sequester the excessive carbon dioxides that destroy the atmosphere while expending oxygen for oxygen- consuming organisms such as animals and human beings.
Cardinal virtues for the Environment
Since the four cardinal virtues, prudence, justice, temperance and courage have been passed on through the ages since the Ancient and medieval worlds as perennial contributions to the development of virtue ethics, we can then conclude this paper by considering how these virtues can be applied to the current problems of our environment.
Prudence, the first and foremost of these virtues, can be reformulated in terms of bioethics’ precautionary principle which states care must be practiced in the introduction of human interventions on the environment that pose potentially irreversible damage on humans and their environments. This means that the consequences of possible risks on the environment must be properly accounted for before introducing new innovations.
Justice, the second cardinal virtue would mean not only giving to each human being its due but also including in the scope of the meaning of humans not only to our contemporaries but also including future generations who should also be able to benefit from nature’s resources. The principle of justice must advance not only the cause of human survival but also the intrinsic values inherent in nature such as those of endangered species who likewise have inalienable rights to exist.
Moderation, the third cardinal virtue, is very relevant to the preservation of the environment because it puts limits to excessive levels of consumption and production that could harm the carrying capacities of ecological systems. Nature must be allowed to regenerate in order to continue supplying the ever increasing needs of humanity and wastes must be reduced by means of recycling and reusing resources in order to preserve the integrity of the natural environment.
Courage, the virtue that will allow humans to endure difficult choices, must then be employed in order to tolerate the little inconveniences that must be practiced in order to preserve the environment. Waste segregation, reusing non-biodegradable products, and composting organic wastes are new habits of lifestyles that must be inculcated in order to cultivate the necessary virtues for the sake of the environment.
Conclusion
Since the bedrock of reality, no matter what form it takes, rests on the act existence, it is therefore incumbent on humans, as embodied spirits, to preserve and protect everything that exists in the material world by lifting up their dignity to the level of spiritual integrity by supporting the self-development of each individual existent since they likewise ultimately derived their being from that Being who made other beings be.
Reference:
Norris Clarke, S.J., Person, Being and Ecology, Edited with a commentary by Rainier A. Ibana (Quezon City, Ateneo Office of Research and Publications, 1996)
[i] This was initially developed by Fr. Clarke in his paper “The Limitation of Act by Potency: Aristoteleanism or Neoplatonism?” in Explorations in Metaphysics: Being—God—Person (Notre Dame: University of
Notre Dame Press, 1994), 65–88.
This principle of relationality is mirrored linguistically by the Tagalog prefix ka wherein relationships are expressed by simply affixing the prefix that refers to otherness (ka), the second person singular form of the tagalong language. This is exemplified in the case of entities (kalamesa or sharing a table, kakwarto or roomates), experiences (kasama or being together, kausap co-conversant,) or even fellow human beings (Ka Amado, Ka Louie).
