Philosophy Now Forum

The two terms, "Existence" and "Essence", have been a subject of debate between Essentialists (those who believe that existence is preceded by essence) and Existentialists (those who believe that it's essence that's preceded by existence). Essentialists believe that existence is defined and made up of a single substance called essence, which makes Essentialism a collectivist philosophy; whereas Existentialists believe that it's the essence that is entirely defined by the existence, as in the existence of the human individual, which makes it an individualist philosophy.

My take is that Existence and Essence are one and the same ~ they are indistinguishable from each other. That is because in order for something to exist, you have to have a simple essence that helps emanate the aggregate that makes up the whole existence. Likewise, in order for there to be an essence, the essence must exist as the opposite of existence is nothingness.
I believe that Existence combining with Essence is prevalent in relating the human individual to the entire cosmos. On one hand, we are all human beings who are made up of matter and mind/spirit, which are emanations from the collective soul that is the All or the One. However, we can still define our lives as individuals, even when we connect with our fellow humanity, and our fellow creatures of Nature. It goes back to what I've often said in the past: that the All is One.

Or

There is existence and your thoughts of essence are product of darwinian evolution 15 billion years after this verse came to be.

Essence sounds like 'soul' of life force or such. 'is that wrong'?
a thing you have packed under one name to give it weight.
essence of things.?
what is a rock. split a branch and there it is

but existence carries more weight.. in fact, all there is.

Before this universe, was a greater existence. our 'verse is a toy on shelf of room of reality.
[who lives in this room]
Essence.
could you expand, why does existance require essence? existence is arena where life can be, why add fiction to the whole of things .
Or do you want to start a religion.

_____________________________
Reality/ existence is all there is. there is no causality here. reality is and always has been . no beginning or end.
our 'verse is a small thing in reality.
[hjarloprillar 1996]

There is existence and your thoughts of essence are product of darwinian evolution 15 billion years after this verse came to be.

Essence sounds like 'soul' of life force or such. 'is that wrong'?
a thing you have packed under one name to give it weight.
essence of things.?
what is a rock. split a branch and there it is

but existence carries more weight.. in fact, all there is.

So you say that existence precedes essence? Well, that may be fine but what does make up existence, then? Maybe it could be true for the individual that existence precedes essence, since it's what the individual who decides to make an event into something positive or negative. But what about the interaction between others, and what about the objective facts that we do already know about the universe (ie. forces, elements, seasons)? Surely, we can expand upon such objective facts to make explanations ad find more facts about ourselves and the universe, and also try to communicate with others to make ourselves a vibrant force in living one with Nature.

Essence.
could you expand, why does existance require essence? existence is arena where life can be, why add fiction to the whole of things .
Or do you want to start a religion.

I have no want or need to start a religion, as I'd be teaching the same thing that religion have been talking about for many years. Just philosophizing.

The reason why existence requires essence is because there must be something that permeates within us that makes us live and makes existence the way it is. When talking about existence in the physical sense, existence is made up of elements which can be deduced to the four primal elements of Earth, Water, Air, and Fire. But what are these elements made of? There must be some supreme force ~ possibly Spirit, or Ether, or any other such force that which the four elements originate from. So in a physical sense, we are elements in matter that are emanated from this source, which is proof or evident of a physical monism.

Then there is a spiritual monism, which is pondered on mainly by the esotericists from both the East and the West. We all have our ups and downs in life; we all have emotions that either make or break us. Philosophers from Stoicism, Buddhism, Taoism, Neoplatonism, and almost all religions and some philosophies, say that humanity is in pain because we stray from peace and tranquility (in the case of monotheism, straying away from God). It's because of our wanting to be individuals that we find frustration in the many flaws in ourselves that still seemingly have not been addressed. It is not bad to perceive ourselves as individuals; however, every one of us desires something, which means that there is an underlying form of collectivism and oneness that binds us all.

Before this universe, was a greater existence. our 'verse is a toy on shelf of room of reality.
[who lives in this room]

[...]

Reality/ existence is all there is. there is no causality here. reality is and always has been . no beginning or end.
our 'verse is a small thing in reality.
[hjarloprillar 1996]

I guess it would be a wonder then of how this universe came to be, if existence is eternal.