τί ἦν εἶναι: Difference between revisions

The concept originates rigorously with Aristotle (although it can also be found in Plato), who used the Greek expression to ti ên einai ([[τὸ τί ἦν εἶναι]], literally meaning "[[the what it was to be]]" and corresponding to the scholastic term [[quiddity]]) or sometimes the shorter phrase to ti esti ([[τὸ τί ἐστι]], literally meaning "[[the what it is]]" and corresponding to the scholastic term [[haecceity]]) for the same idea. This phrase presented such difficulties for its Latin translators that they coined the word [[essentia]] (English "[[essence]]") to represent the whole expression. For Aristotle and his scholastic followers, the notion of essence is closely linked to that of definition ([[ὁρισμός]]). Source: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essence Essence]; see also [https://www.translatum.gr/forum/index.php?topic=984289.0 Translatum forum]