impossibilitas

Impossibilitas is a Latin noun meaning "impossibility." In scholarly usage it designates the state or quality of being impossible, and appears in philosophy, theology, and legal history to discuss what can or cannot be realized. The term is formed from im- (not) and possiblitas (possibility).

In philosophy and logic, impossibilitas is used to classify propositions, statements, or actions according to their mode of possibility. Distinctions include logical impossibility (contradiction in terms), physical impossibility (violating natural law), and moral or practical impossibility. Medieval and early modern thinkers debated whether some impossibilities are absolute or relative to conditions, and how statements about possible worlds are evaluated.

In law, especially in Roman and civil law traditions, impossibilitas appeared in discussions of obligation and performance. A contract may be discharged when performance becomes objectively impossible, not merely more burdensome, potentially under doctrines akin to force majeure or frustration of purpose. The term helps to distinguish cases where obligations cannot be fulfilled from those where performance remains theoretically possible but impracticable.

In theology and metaphysics, impossibilitas can appear in debates about omnipotence, necessity, and the coherence of certain propositions about God or the universe, though such uses are more technical and historical than common in contemporary discourse.

Today, "impossibilitas" is mainly encountered in historical texts or Latin glosses. In English, the ordinary terms are "impossibility" or "impossible"; the Latin noun remains a scholarly label for the concept.