What is the difference between existence and essence?

Ive always thought of essence to be the components of what something is made of, so that can be concret, or figuerative. existence is something being what it it is. at least I think this is what you meen.

Existence is just a fact.

Essence is the sum of something’s being.

I agree with what you have said about existence. About us simply being. Living, breathing, eating, sleeping.

I think of essence as something that is intangible. It exists as an immaterial entity.
It is that lump in your throat when you lose someone close to you.
It is the rise in your chest when he walks by and smiles at you.
It is what gives our existence meaning and worth.
You can’t have one without the other a kind of Catch 22.

I think all of us are saying the same thing here. Are there any other perspectives?

Are you looking for a philosophical definition, such as Sartre’s distinction in defining existentialism and Heidegger’s view of existence expressed as Dasein, or something else, such as personal opinion?

@Jeruba could anyone be looking for anything that required so much thought on a lovely Saturday afternoon? (I’d have to look up half of that response to even know what you just said.)

@Jeruba Personal opinions. I can find definitions on google and wikipedia.

Essence is all the senses combined….the touch, taste, sound and feel of whatever. A rose is a flower until you see, feel and smell it. Apply that to anything around you and that is the essence of life!

@Cruiser Essence is more than just senses. Something that is not present in reality may still have an essence. The essence of something is that which makes it what it is.

For example, the essence of a bachelor is an unmarried man. However, if every man was married and there were no bachelors left (existing) on earth, the essence of a bachelor would still be an unmarried man.

To exist is to be. What is essential to that existence is its essence.

I completely agree with lawlipop and marinelife. Essence is the immaterial make up, the substance, the meaning, and it’s something you can feel.Existence is the being(or more redundantly just existing) but a fact? not really sure of it being a fact ;) when people say they feel what it means to exist, they’re talking about the essence they are feeling

@WolfFang So, working off what you said, maybe existence represents the senses, while essence represents fact?

Exactly, maybe it’s inversed. Maybe what we feel(essence) is real and what we naturally can sense as fact(existence) is not

@WolfFang Well, I don’t know about real and not real. It’s just that one is tangible and the other is not. I think existence and essence exist (redundant) together.

Existence is a simple yes/no question, as to whether a concept is present in what we regard to be the ‘real’ world, or is merely imagined. Essence is the meaning ascribed to existent objects by humans, and often varies between individuals.

Your opinion is just how I might have said it. :D

@PacificToast thanks :D

@lawlipop You got my attention with your statement “Something that is not present in reality may still have an essence.”
but your bachelor example left me hangin?? Can you come up with a better example than that? I mean if something not present in reality can still have an essence is a cool thought but I can’t conjure up anything at the moment that would do that statement justice…

@lawlipop Your bachelor example makes no sense. The ‘essence’ of an unmarried man is still a bachelor, since bachelors still exist in a different temporal location to the hypothetical scenario you mention. A non-existent concept is something like a purple octopus that inhabits the forty-ninth floor of the Burj Khalifa – it is not ‘real’, and never has been.

@FireMadeFlesh actually, as a more or less unmarried man (don’t ask), I would have to say that unless he changes and washes the bed linens frequently, the “essence” of a man… lives on in the sheets.

@CyanoticWasp Nice one! Personally, I like to change them.

I must admit to feeling neglected—I thought my answer succinct and elegant. sign
[To exist is to be. What is essential to that existence is its essence.]

the argument posed by Sartre was that Existence precedes Essence, that there is, in fact, no immutable a priori nature that we as humans pertain to, rather we just Exist, deviod of any definitive essence and as such, manifest according to our inclinations and the choices we make, this is a central tenet of Existentialism.

@anartist that would be an oxymoronic attempt to reconcile two concepts that are at the heart of a deep philosophical divergence nice try though :)

@mammal One can exist without being an Existentialist.