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Full Idea
Being is the positing of essence. That which is my essence is my being. The fish exists in water; you cannot, however, separate its essence from this being.
Clarification
To 'posit' something is to propose it
Gist of Idea
Being posits essence, and my essence is my being
Source
Ludwig Feuerbach (Principles of Philosophy of the Future [1843], §27)
Book Ref
Feuerbach,Ludwig: 'Principles of the Philosophy of the Future', ed/tr. Vogel,M [Hackett 1986], p.42
A Reaction
This throws a different light on later (e.g. Heidegger) discussions of 'being', which may map onto Aristotelian discussions of essences.
| 21820 | Parmenides at least saw Being as the same as Nous, and separate from the sensed realm [Parmenides, by Plotinus] |
| 21822 | Anaxagoras's concept of supreme Mind has a simple First and a multiple One [Anaxagoras, by Plotinus] |
| 21821 | Plato's Parmenides has a three-part theory, of Primal One, a One-Many, and a One-and-Many [Plato, by Plotinus] |
| 21818 | Being depends on the Good, which is not itself being, but superior to being [Plato] |
| 11286 | Primary being must be more than mere indeterminate ultimate subject of predication [Politis on Aristotle] |
| 11234 | The three main candidates for primary being are particular, universal and essence; essence is the answer [Aristotle, by Politis] |
| 11279 | Primary being is either universals, or the basis of predication, or essence [Aristotle, by Politis] |
| 11293 | Non-primary beings lack essence, or only have a derived essence [Aristotle, by Politis] |
| 11297 | Primary being is both the essence, and the subject of predication [Aristotle, by Politis] |
| 11232 | Primary being ('proté ousia') exists in virtue of itself, not in relation to other things [Aristotle, by Politis] |
| 21812 | Being is the product of pure intellect [Plotinus] |
| 21817 | The One does not exist, but is the source of all existence [Plotinus] |
| 21824 | The One is a principle which transcends Being [Plotinus] |
| 22103 | Being is basic to thought, and all other concepts are additions to being [Aquinas] |
| 6920 | Being posits essence, and my essence is my being [Feuerbach] |