Existence And Essence:the Metaphysic Foundation Of Maritain's Personalism

This article attempts to study Maritain's theoretical constitution and explore the consistency between Maritain's speculative philosophy and practical philosophy with a systematic perspective.On the one hand,the article studies the innovation and uniqueness of Maritain's metaphysics.On the other hand,the article studies how this metaphysics provides theoretical support for t Maritain's personalism.This article first finds in Maritain's metaphysics the basic position of Maritain's entire philosophy,which is to break the dual distinction between subject and object,and to acknowledge the mystery of things which is difficult to be understood by reason.Only by acknowledging the mystery of things can one arrive at the abundance of being.Based on being's incomparable richness,being has an intelligible structure,and also is a very fundamental activity as a fact.From the structure of being,Maritain distinguishes two aspects of existence and essence.With the distinction between existence and essence as the starting point,this article further explores how existence and essence depend on each other and inseparable from each other based on the relationship between reality and potentiality.These two are found united in an existent possessing essence which known as subject.In this kind of unification,however,according to different types,different subjects exist in different essences.The human subject is different from the subject without soul and the pure spiritual subject.Its unique essence is determined by the soul and the material both.From the aspect of the soul,human is person.From the material aspect,human is individual.Only by combining personality with individuality can one obtain the complete essence and be able to exist as a integrated human.Here,the principle of how Maritain's concepts of existence and essence have established a theoretical foundation for his personalism has been given a preliminary statement.Studies have shown that the innovation of Maritain's metaphysics lies in emphasizing the abundance of being,further explaining the relationship between the two concepts of existence and essence,and providing the proof his personalism with the relationship between existence and essence.Therefore,there is a consistency between Maritain's speculative philosophy and practical philosophy.It is this consistency that has allowed Maritain's existentialism to be established.The distinguishing feature of Maritain's existentialism from other systems of existentialism is theism and the persistence of the unity of existence and essence.