Author Topic: Essence Existence  (Read 276 times)

Sergeant Slim Jim

  • Member
  • Posts: 3
    • View Profile
Essence Existence
« on: August 30, 2020, 06:29:51 am »
Hi all. I have an interesting one for you. I recently encountered someone who argued that if God exists then He is contingent upon existence. In other words, He needs a place to occupy, even if that place is existence. Now the way I understand it, God's essence is His existence, but I'm having some trouble breaking that down further into an argument this guy would understand. Does it make sense to say God exists within Himself? Is there a better way of saying that? A different argument altogether? Thanks.

For reference, here's the video where the subject was discussed:

ClassicalLiberal.Theist

  • Member
  • Posts: 31
    • View Profile
Re: Essence Existence
« Reply #1 on: August 30, 2020, 07:31:04 pm »
God doesn't exist in anything. God just exists. It is a fundemtanlly philosophical error to talk about "places" where which God exists; he does not exist here nor there or with respect to anything else, he just exists. He is existence itself.

Sergeant Slim Jim

  • Member
  • Posts: 3
    • View Profile
Re: Essence Existence
« Reply #2 on: August 31, 2020, 06:48:48 pm »
That's more or less what I'm thinking my response would be, especially given that God is a being of pure act, His essence is His existence, etc.

Not the Dumb Ox

  • Member
  • Posts: 2
    • View Profile
Re: Essence Existence
« Reply #3 on: September 28, 2020, 05:05:52 am »
That’s a three-and-a-half hour video. Could you provide a time stamp to the discussion?

From your description this sounds like a resurrection of the being-as-genus debate. Answer: being is not a genus.