Essence

In philosophy, essence is a term with several variant meanings. Most of them derive from the notion of essence in Aristotle and its evolution within the scholastic tradition. Here essence was used to refer to the essential properties of a substance: those attributes that make a substance what it is.

Essence in this sense is contrasted with accident: essential properties are properties that a substance has necessarily; accidental properties are those that it has contingently, those which the substance could have existed without having. Thus, for example, the high value of gold in the jewelry market is an accident of gold: if humans did not exist, or did not make jewelry, or found gold ugly, then gold would not have a high value in the jewelry market, but it would still be gold. Being metallic, on the other hand, is an essential property of gold: any substance that were non-metallic, whatever it might be, would not be gold.

In the modern period, some philosophers—such as George Santayana—have kept the vocabulary of essences but have abolished the distinction between essence and accidents. For Santayana, the essence of a being is simply everything about it, independent of the question of existence. Essence is what-ness as distinct from that-ness.

In Existentialism physical essence relates to physical properties: color, texture, smell... The essence of a being relates to their character, goals, morals...

In the role-playing game Shadowrun, essence is a measure of a living being's lifeforce. Most humans and metahumans start with a value of six. It powers magic, and as essence fades, so does magical aptitude. Cyberware, bioware, nanotech implants, and other major changes to a being's body can damage its essence as well. If a being's essence ever reaches zero, it dies.

See also: accident, substance, modal logic

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia article. Browse Wikipedia for more information.