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Single Idea 11297

[filed under theme 7. Existence / A. Nature of Existence / 3. Being / f. Primary being ]

Full Idea

On any interpretation, Aristotle argues that primary being with regard to each thing is both the essence of that thing and the ultimate subject of predication with regard to that thing.

Gist of Idea

Primary being is both the essence, and the subject of predication

Source

report of Aristotle (Metaphysics [c.324 BCE], ousia) by Vassilis Politis - Aristotle and the Metaphysics 7.5

Book Ref

Politis,Vasilis: 'Aristotle and the Metaphysics' [Routledge 2004], p.228


A Reaction

This is Politis's prelude to an account of conflicting interpretations over whether 'ousia' has one or two meanings for Aristotle.


The 15 ideas with the same theme [concept of a mode of being prior to all others]:

Parmenides at least saw Being as the same as Nous, and separate from the sensed realm [Parmenides, by Plotinus]
Anaxagoras's concept of supreme Mind has a simple First and a multiple One [Anaxagoras, by Plotinus]
Plato's Parmenides has a three-part theory, of Primal One, a One-Many, and a One-and-Many [Plato, by Plotinus]
Being depends on the Good, which is not itself being, but superior to being [Plato]
Primary being must be more than mere indeterminate ultimate subject of predication [Politis on Aristotle]
The three main candidates for primary being are particular, universal and essence; essence is the answer [Aristotle, by Politis]
Primary being is either universals, or the basis of predication, or essence [Aristotle, by Politis]
Non-primary beings lack essence, or only have a derived essence [Aristotle, by Politis]
Primary being is both the essence, and the subject of predication [Aristotle, by Politis]
Primary being ('proté ousia') exists in virtue of itself, not in relation to other things [Aristotle, by Politis]
Being is the product of pure intellect [Plotinus]
The One does not exist, but is the source of all existence [Plotinus]
The One is a principle which transcends Being [Plotinus]
Being is basic to thought, and all other concepts are additions to being [Aquinas]
Being posits essence, and my essence is my being [Feuerbach]