The Maze And Belief In The Seeking For The Essence

The article starts with three dimension of view: from the relationship of substance and the essence, the unity of subjective essence and the objective essence, and the essence exists in the process of development, tries to compare the difference between the pre-Hegel philosophers'thoughts and Hegel's thought and to indicate the exploring process of traditional philosophers seeking for the essence. Furthermore, combined with the refutation and criticism to the essence of the modern philosophers, it tries to demonstrate the value and meaning of the mode of thought of seeking for the essence.As the key notion of ontology, essence is discussed with the substance. Before Hegel, the philosophers distinguish the substance with things,they don't think the substance as the unity of essence and phenomena. Hegel comprehends the substance as the unity of both, substance is not simplex essence that is different with phenomena, but is the essence including phenomena as its expression.Since Plato distinguishes the phenomena and essence definitely, essence is the substantive foundation that deciding the changing world. Hume doubts human's knowledge of essence, which enlightens Kant's thought. Kant discusses the conditions that make up for the knowledge, and concludes that any knowledge is the result of the subject synthesizes the sense materials; thereby the essence is established on the subjective sense. Hegel makes the essence reached the unity of subjective sense and objective sense based on the absolute spirit. Moreover, in the thoughts of pre-Hegel philosophers, essence exists subjectively and there is no contradiction. Hegel that essence exists in the development from which it obtains the own whole and complete connotation.The contemporary anti-essentialism mainly indicate their criticism through the way of resolving the concept of essence and being against the dualism way of seeking for the essence which occupy the main position in traditional mode of thought. The article briefly evaluates the rightness and wrongness of their attitudes, and concludes that it is illogical for seeking for the essence only regardless of other things, but it's impossible of completely resolving the existence of essence, essence have its own value and meaning.