Philosophy
Every creature is fundamentally based on two principles that elaborate its being, which is existence and essence. All living beings, God excluded, require both principles that explain the definite existence of individual thing. Each principle is considered dissimilar from the other, but this difference is not merely logical but it is a real one. Aristotle, Plato and St. Thomas Aquinas take the stand on explaining the essence. Both Plato and Aristotle simply explain essence as “the form” (Giles,& Michael, p.40). However, Aquinas argued that if the essence was merely the considerable form, then matter cannot be considered as essence of a thing. Therefore, he concluded that the essence of material thing should include matter and form.
In general, essence can be explained as “what” of a creature. In other words, it explains the quiddity of a thing, that which is recognized through our materializing of a concept. Therefore, it can be termed as formal principle because for form reality, it is preoccupied by human intellect (Giles,& Michael, p.60). Essence is then considered as a universal principle that makes categorizes materials individuals into a similar kind. According to John Locke, he termed essence as a real essence that means, “What makes something what it is, and in the case of physical substance, it is the underlying physical cause of the object’s observable qualities.” (Buckingham, p.43)
Existentialists, for instance Jean-Paul, argued that when considering the case of a human being, the existence happen to exist first and then develop their essence. With this information it can be therefore argued that the purpose of a human being on earth is not planned, that is, it is not determined by nature or any other being(Gordon, Ḥayim, & Gordon, p.62). Therefore, no one on earth can claim that they know their definite reason to be on earth, and therefore under no condition a person on earth can claim to be significant for a certain purpose. In addition, no individual can claim that they were chosen to fulfill or play a significant role on this earth; this implies that a well-known notion “I was created for purpose and for a reason or a purpose” is insignificant and invalid according to existentialists (Giles & Michael, p.34). However, this stand can lead to a controversial argument and therefore it should be approached in a direction that facts are separated from logical fallacies.
Sartre believed that by choosing himself, he was able to develop an image for all people. The concept of existentialism can be argued on two views, Christian view and atheists view. For Christians, they believed that God is the Supreme Being and the creator and thus He has a purpose for crating each an individual (Giles & Michael, p.47). With the spiritual doctrine, this belief is taken by any people as a true notion. Religious people believe that God has a reason for existence of any person before they were created and thus the essence of such people is scheduled before they came to exist. In other words, according to Christian view the essence of a human being comes before the existence.
However, due to the fact that not all human being believes in God, the notion that God determines the essence of an individual cannot be considered as a universal truth. Since this is not a truth that is acceptable to all human beings, the philosopher came in to find the solution to this controversial and come up with a truth that is universally accepted.
The atheistic believed on the fundamental principle of existentialists that argues that “man is nothing else but what makes of himself.” (Gravil, p.61) This means that an individual has a power to determine their fate, their purpose on earth and hence their essence. Atheistic contrary believed that there is no supreme being that controls the essence of human being. For instance, a little child could have an ambition of becoming a doctor (Gordon, Ḥayim, & Gordon, p.15). Christian would argue that this ambition is imparted into the brain by God. However, desires, intuitions, ambitions, the wills and the feelings are considered as self-governing entities that are as result of a person perception and are not imparted by any external being. Moreover, if one could still hold that the ambition is imparted by God, it implies that the existence of that individual came before the essence.
Since this argument favors both atheists and Christians if the argument is clearly understood, we can derive a universal truth that the existence comes before the essence. A human being cannot therefore be compared with any device that is designed to fulfill a certain purpose. A man is created to be effective and develop ideas that could help them to become what they want to be in future (Gravil, p.36). It can be concluded that it is therefore significant to make plan that can help a person to achieve their purpose in future and to develop their essence. Man should only rely on God for reward on his hard work and help him to become what he desires.
Works Cited
Buckingham, Will. The Philosophy Book. London [England: DK Pub, 2013. Print.
Giles, and Michael V. Murray. Theorems on Existence and Essence (theoremata De Esse Et Essentia). Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 1953. Print.
Gordon, Ḥayim, and Rivca Gordon. Sartre's Philosophy and the Challenge of Education. Lewiston, N.Y: E. Mellen Press, 2001. Print.
Gravil, Richard. Existentialism. Penrith: Humanities-Ebooks, 2007. Print.
