The Ability of Reality: 1 Introducing Ability — Potential as Capacity

In our exploration of the Inclination Turn, we saw that reality is not merely a field of potential but a field of leaning: a posture of readiness that inclines toward coherence before any cut is made into actuality. This dimension of leaning revealed how the universe, life, and social formations are always poised, always tending, always leaning into possible instantiations.

Yet readiness has another complementary aspect: ability. If inclination answers the question where is the field leaning?, ability answers the question what is the field capable of doing?

Competence

Ability, in relational ontology, is competence. It is the latent capacity of the field to produce phenomena, to align tendencies, and to enact instantiations consistent with its structure. Unlike inclination, which is directional and postural, ability is operative: it defines the scope and limit of what can actualise.

• In a quantum field, ability determines the kinds of particles and interactions that can occur.

• In biology, ability shapes what an organism can accomplish, adapt, or generate.

• In social systems, ability governs what coordinated patterns, innovations, or collective transformations are possible.

• Cosmologically, ability sets the universe’s capacity to self-organise, to generate structure, and to manifest complex phenomena.

Ability vs. Inclination

Ability is not opposed to inclination; it complements it. Leaning tells us the direction of potential; ability tells us the reach and feasibility of that potential. Together, they constitute the full architecture of readiness: reality is both poised and capable, inclined and competent.

This duality allows us to reconsider the nature of potential itself. Potential is not just a list of possibilities (system) or a posture toward manifestation (process); it is a structured, dynamic competence: a field with both leaning and operative power, a field capable of self-actualisation at every scale.

Looking Ahead

In the coming parts of this series, we will explore how ability manifests across scales: from the subtle capacities of quantum fields, to the self-actualising powers of living systems, to the emergent competencies of social formations, and ultimately to the universe as a whole.

By understanding ability, we begin to see reality not just as a leaning field, but as a competent, capable system, where potential is both posture and power, and where readiness is expressed as both tendency and operative capacity.