Potential generally refers to a currently unrealized ability. The term is
used in a wide variety of fields, from physics to the social sciences to
indicate things that are in a state where they are able to change in ways
ranging from the simple release of energy by objects to the realization of
abilities in people. The philosopher Aristotle incorporated this concept into
his theory of potentiality and actuality, a pair of closely connected
principles which he used to analyze motion, causality, ethics, and physiology
in his Physics , Metaphysics , Nicomachean Ethics , and De Anima ,
which is about the human psyche.