The essence of personality potential is one of the important characteristics of understanding a person as an integral being, creating an individual space of personal aspirations and values. The origins of the problem under consideration in various forms are present in the philosophical reflections of many researchers and have a long history. Even Socrates, Plotinus, Cicero, Thomas Aquinas drew attention to the deep foundations and spiritual essence of man, to the presence of virtues in a state of potential stagnation, to the need for their development in order to achieve the ideal of perfection. N. Kuzansky, S. L. Frank, P. I. Tillich noted the presence of latent force unfolding in time in living beings, the rejection of the self and introduction into something higher, the correlation of the divine and the human, the interconnection of things and events, etc. The modern world actualizes the solution to the problem, creating conditions for a deeper understanding of the potential, consideration of its integrity and the essential foundations of maximum realization. The crisis in all spheres of human life, economic, political, social, requires a quantum leap in understanding the potential and building, on the basis of modern studies of the phenomenon, new projects for transforming reality. In this regard, understanding the historical aspect of studying the logic of the genesis of potential makes an invaluable contribution to solving this problem. Understanding the depth of philosophical thought in a historical retrospective about the origin, emergence and existence of potential will allow you to connect the past and the present, as well as qualitatively advance into the future.