Act
Act
(in Scholasticism)
(1) Operation; as, intellect’s act. In this sense, it is generally referred to as second act (see below).
(2) That which determines or perfects a thing; as rationality perfects animality.
CommandedAn act, originating in the will but executed by some other power; as walking.
ElicitedThe proper and immediate act of the will, as love or hate.
First(1) The prime form of a thing, in the sense of its essence or integrity. The second act is its operation. Thus the physical evil of blindness is the absence of the first act, i.e., a perfection due to man’s integrity; while the moral evil of sin is an absence of the second act, i.e., a perfection demanded by righteous operation. (2) First act may also designate the faculty or principle of operation, as the will; while second act stands for its operations.
Human(humanus) Deliberate act; e.g. painting.
Of Man(hominis) Indeliberate act; e.g. digestion. Opposed to passive or subjective potency (q.v.).
FormalA substantial or accidental form thought of as determining a thing to be what it is rather than to be something else. E.g. the substantial form of fire determines the composite in which it exists, to be fire and nothing else. Likewise the accidental form of heat determines a body to be warm rather than cold.
InformativeForm, or that which is like a form in some composite, e.g. the soul in man or knowledge in the intelligent soul. — H.G.
Fuente: The Dictionary of Philosophy
Act
primarily signifies “caught in the act of theft” (epi, “upon,” intensive, autos, “self,” phor, “a thief”); then, “caught in the act” of any other crime, Joh 8:4. In some texts the preposition epi is detached from the remainder of the adjective and appears as ep’ autophoro.
signifies “an act of righteousness, a concrete expression of righteousness,” as in the RV of Rom 5:18, in reference to the Death of Christ; the AV wrongly renders it “the righteousness of One.” The contrast is between the one trespass by Adam and the one act of Christ in His atoning Death. In Rev 15:4; Rev 19:8, the word is used in the plural to signify, as in the RV, “righteous acts,” respectively, of God and of the saints. See JUDGMENT, JUSTIFICATION, ORDINANCE, RIGHTEOUSNESS.
“to do, to practice,” is translated “act” in the RV of Act 17:7 (AV, “do”). See COMMIT, DO, EXACT, KEEP, REQUIRE, USE.