Volume 93, 2019
A Perennial Philosophy of Nature
Elliot Polsky
Pages 263-292
https://doi.org/10.5840/acpaproc2021429125
¡°In As Many Ways As Something Is Predicated .?.?. in That Many Ways Is Something Signified to Be¡±
The Logic behind Thomas Aquinas¡¯s Predication Thesis, Esse Substantiale, and Esse in Rerum Natura
Thomistic commentators agree that Thomas Aquinas at least nominally allows for ¡°to be¡± (esse) to signify not only an act contrasted with essence in creatures, but also the essence itself of those creatures. Nevertheless, it is almost unheard of for any author to interpret Thomas¡¯s use of the word ¡°esse¡± as referring to essence. Against this tendency, this paper argues that Thomas¡¯s In V Metaphysics argument that every predication signifies esse provides an important instance of Thomas using ¡°esse¡± to signify essence. This reading of In V Metaphysics, which this paper defends against Gyula Klima¡¯s alternative interpretation, suggests significant reinterpretations of Thomas¡¯s technical terms ¡°esse substantiale¡± and ¡°esse in rerum natura¡± as well as Thomas¡¯s use of?¡°is,¡± both as a copula and as a principal predicate.