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Single Idea 9110

[filed under theme 7. Existence / A. Nature of Existence / 3. Being / g. Particular being ]

Full Idea

The words 'thing' and 'to be' (esse) signify one and the same thing, but the one in the manner of a noun and the other in the manner of a verb.

Gist of Idea

The words 'thing' and 'to be' assert the same idea, as a noun and as a verb

Source

William of Ockham (Summa totius logicae [1323], III,II,c,xxvii)

Book Ref

Ockham,William of: 'Ockham's Philosophical Writings', ed/tr. Boehner,P [Hackett 1990], p.93

A Reaction

Well said - as you would expect from a thoroughgoing nominalist. I would have thought that this was the last word on the subject of Being, thus rendering any need for me to read Heidegger quite superfluous. Or am I missing something?

The 16 ideas with the same theme [being as only found in substances or particulars]:

20903 The only distinctions are Configuration (shape), Disposition (order) and Turning (position) [Democritus, by Aristotle]
566 If nothing exists except individuals, how can there be a science of infinity? [Aristotle]
16090 Being must be understood with reference to one primary sense - the being of substance [Aristotle, by Gill,ML]
570 Nothing is added to a man's existence by saying he is 'one', or that 'he exists' [Aristotle]
12061 The primary subject seems to be substance, to the fullest extent [Aristotle]
10946 Existence requires thisness, as quantity or quality [Aristotle]
16152 Other types of being all depend on the being of substance [Aristotle]
11295 There is no being unless it is determinate and well-defined [Aristotle, by Politis]
13735 Aristotle discusses fundamental units of being, rather than existence questions [Aristotle, by Schaffer,J]
21813 Number determines individual being [Plotinus]
15812 Being implies distinctness, which implies division, unity, and multitude [Aquinas]
9110 The words 'thing' and 'to be' assert the same idea, as a noun and as a verb [William of Ockham]
12319 What is not truly one being is not truly a being either [Leibniz]
6921 Particularity belongs to being, whereas generality belongs to thought [Feuerbach]
4064 The idea of a thing and the idea of existence are two sides of the same coin [Quine, by Crane]
13404 To exist necessarily is to have an essence whose own essence must be instantiated [Jubien]