According to the thesis of powerism, our world is pervaded by causal powers which are metaphysically basic. The aim of this paper is to defend the existence of the self, defined as a substantial entity, and its mental powers . This claim, which may seem a bold one, should not be deemed as inconsistent with scientific evidence. In fact, this approach does not ignore empirical knowledge, but is not bound only to it in order to understand entities, properties, and the relationship between them. Aristotelian powerism may show that the self, as the subject of one’s mental acts, is a substance that has an essential nature. Firstly, we shall analyze the immediate evidence we have in support of the existence of the self as a substantial entity. We will show that the self is a substance because it possesses an essential character, i.e. an individual essence. We will take into account the Aristotelian perspective of substance , trying to show how the presence of a necessary property that makes every subject identical to itself and the phenomenal features of one’s private experience point to the existence of a substantial entity that corresponds to the self. Secondly, we will try to justify the adoption of a metaphysical theory of causation based on powers, analyzing it in comparison with the main competing theories, namely hypotheticalism and nomism. Then, we shall proceed to show the causal properties of the substance in question, namely the mental powers. In fact, thirdly, we will embrace the thesis of powerism by defending the existence of a set of mental powers that should be attributed to the self. We will describe the main features of mental powers and we will show that they are conceivable as the pure intentional acts we perform by directing an intentional state towards an intentional object. In this way we show how a classic problem of philosophy of mind, relevant to science as well, can be addressed in an original way by a metaphysical approach involving powers.

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形而上学与科学之间的自我及其因果关系

根据强权主义的论点，我们的世界被形而上学的因果力量所渗透。本文的目的是捍卫被定义为 实体 的自我的存在 及其 心理力量 。这项主张看似大胆，不应被认为与科学证据相抵触。实际上，这种方法并不会忽略经验知识，而不仅限于了解知识，实体及其之间的关系。亚里士多德的权力主义可能表明 ，作为一个人的心理行为主体的 自我 是一种 实质 具有本质。首先，我们将分析支持实体作为一个实体存在的直接证据。我们将证明自我是一种物质，因为它具有本质特征，即个体本质。我们将考虑亚里士多德的 实质 观点 试图显示出使每个主体都与自身相同的必要属性的存在，以及一个人的私人经历的惊人特征如何指向与自我相对应的实质实体的存在。其次，我们将尝试证明基于权力的因果形而上学说的合理性，并与主要的竞争理论如假设论和神论进行比较。然后，我们将继续说明所涉物质的因果性质，即精神力量。实际上，第三，我们通过捍卫一系列应归于自我的 精神力量 的存在来拥抱强权主义论点 。我们将描述精神力量的主要特征，并表明它们是可以想象的。 我们通过将故意状态指向故意对象而执行的 纯故意行为 。通过这种方式，我们展示了如何通过涉及力量的形而上学方法，以原始方式解决与科学相关的经典心理哲学问题。