 Is synderesis, then, a power of the soul or a habit? This distinction goes back to Aristotle, for whom powers are innate and associated with specific capacities, while habits are acquired and associated, by contrast, with tendencies to behave in certain ways. Habits, moreover, inhere in powers. Although both of these properties dispose the agent to act in particular ways, powers, in contrast to habits, are linked to the ability to do so contingently. If I am in the habit of speaking Russian, for instance, then I will have the tendency to do so on a regular basis. It is my preferred mode of communication, and I will take every opportunity to express myself in that language. That I may have the mere capacity—or power—to speak Russian, on the other hand, having studied it in school, say, in no way ensures that I will do so even in situations where I probably should. I might, for example, hate and resent speaking Russian for various reasons, and therefore freely refuse to do so under any circumstances (see, e.g., Aristotle, Metaphysics 9.2, and Potts 1980: 20–22).