Edward Fesser on Aquinas: Esse/essence distinction

[rom422]

Just to be clear, I am Linus, he is Linux. So who are you addressing? Linus

Linux, of course. Sorry about my typo.

 

[rom422]

If that were true there would be no distinction between the essence of the flower and its act of existing. But esse is absolutely distinct from the essence to which it is conjoined and thus there is no need to think that the limitation of a things nature reflects the limitations of the esse through which it is actual. Just like it is the esse that makes a potential actual by being conjoined, an essence ceases to be actual when it is no longer conjoined to esse.

There is a distinction between essence and existence, but not a separation. This is why I avoid using the word “conjoin,” as if essence and existence are two separate entities that are merely “joined” to make an actual being. Existence is not something superadded to essence to make an actual being. Rather, existence is an exercised act. A thing exists or becomes actual because of its exercise of the act of existing (or esse)

Every thing that exists - or what I call the “existent” - is a particular kind of being. Therefore, every existent has an essence. To be perfectly precise, however, I would say that it is the existent, not its essence, that exercises the act of existing. The essence indeed is also actual, but only because the existent, of which it is the essence, is exercising an act of existing, Now, since every thing acts according to its nature, therefore the act of existing exercised by each existent must also be proportionate to its nature. It is in this sense that essence or nature limits the act of existing (esse) exercised by the existent.

Now notice this. The act of existing exercised by every created being is its own act, which is distinct from the Divine Esse, or the Act of Existing that God is. However, as Prime Mover and Efficient Cause of beings, God concurs and actuates every action of His creatures. Which is why God has a role to play in the creature’s exercise of its actions, including its act of existing. We depend on God for all our actions, including our very being or act of existing. However, this does not mean that the Divine Esse is a metaphysical constituent of our being. To think that God is a part of the world is to think of God as a material cause. But God is not a material cause, but an Efficient Cause. He acts in the world and is immanent in the world, but He is distinct from the world and not a part of it.