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technical term

technical term In historical psychology and philosophy, active powers referred to the capacities of impulse, desire, and will that move a person to act, contrasted with intellectual or cognitive powers such as reasoning and judging.

In historical psychology and philosophy, active powers referred to the capacities of impulse, desire, and will that move a person to act, contrasted with intellectual or cognitive powers such as reasoning and judging. The source also notes that this expression is no longer used as a technical term.

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Sources

Drafting source: Baldwin Dictionary of Philosophy and Psychology, 1901. 1901 New York Macmillan original; archive index checked 2026-10-18. “Active Powers” (Active Powers).
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PsychTerms (psychterms.org), CC BY 4.0, version 1. “technical term.” Development preview.

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