Full Idea
'a has property P essentially' means 'a has P, a always had P, there is no possible past in which P exists without P, and there is no moment of time at which a has had P and at which there is a possible future in which a exists without P'
Gist of Idea
Essentially, a has P, always had P, must have had P, and has never had a future without P
Source
Baruch Brody (Identity and Essence [1980], 6)
Book Reference
Brody,Baruch: 'Identity and Essence' [Princeton 1980], p.135
A Reaction
This is Brody's own final account of essentialism. This is a carefully qualified form of the view that essential properties are, on the whole, the necessary properties, which view I take to be fundamentally mistaken.