Full Idea
I am told that I can ask three sorts of questions - whether a thing is, what it is, and what sort it is.
Gist of Idea
Three main questions seem to be whether a thing is, what it is, and what sort it is
Source
Augustine (Confessions [c.398], X.10)
Book Reference
Augustine: 'Confessions', ed/tr. Pine-Coffin,R.S. [Penguin 1961], p.217
A Reaction
This seems to be a very Aristotelian approach. I am pleased to see that what it is and what sort it is are not conflated. The first one must be its individual essence, and the second its generic essence.