Think Tank Thursday—Essence, Existence, and the Thomistic Proof for God

Episode 123

In this episode, we explore one of Thomas Aquinas’s most profound arguments for the existence of God—based on the distinction between essence and existence. Why do things exist at all, and what does it mean that their existence is not necessary? We unpack how Aquinas reasoned that only in God are essence and existence identical, making Him the necessary being that grounds all contingent reality. If you’re interested in classical theism or deep philosophical reasoning about God’s nature, this episode is for you.

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The Argument:

1. In all finite beings, there is a real distinction between essence (what a thing is) and existence (that a thing is).

2. Anything whose essence is distinct from its existence does not exist necessarily; it requires a cause to exist.

3. The collection of all such contingent beings (whose essence is not existence) cannot account for its own existence.

4. A series of caused beings, even an infinite one, cannot explain why existence itself is present rather than absent.

5. Therefore, there must exist a being whose essence is existence itself (ipsum esse subsistens)—a being that does not receive existence but is existence.

Conclusion: Such a being exists, and it is the necessary ground of all other beings—this is what we call God.

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