Aquinas 101 - Course 2: Introduction to Thomistic Philosophy cover image

Episode 13 – The Distinction of Essence and Existence | Prof. Edward Feser

Aquinas 101 - Course 2: Introduction to Thomistic Philosophy

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What Is the Essence of Things?

No serious essentialist believes that the natures of things can always be discovered easily from the armchair, as it were. The unity and order of things would be mystifying if essence were not a pervasive feature of mind-independent reality. As philosopher science Nancy Cartwright emphasizes, the sorts of regularities that the hard sciences tend to uncover are rarely observed in ordinary circumstances.

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