The Theoretical Disagreement Between Aristotle And Thomas Aquinas On The Relation Between Being And Essence

The problem of Being is the core problem of metaphysics.Since the ancient Greek philosopher Parmenides proposed the concept of Being as an epistemological concept,Plato began to question the essence of the Being of things and opened the line of essentialism.Going to Aristotle,he explained the Being as Being as substance,and finally explained the Being of things with the essence of things,and constructed the theory of the identity of Being and essence.This essentialist line of questioning Being continues to Boethius.However,going to the Arab philosopher Avicenna opened the theory of distinguishing Being and Essence,and the path of Being prioritizing essence,marking the second beginning of metaphysics.Thomas Aquinas inherited Avicenna’s path of exploring the metaphysics of Being,interpreting the concept of Being as an“activity of Being”,reinterpreting the problem of traditional essentialism from the perspective of ontology,and systematically establishing Being and essence The theory of distinction started a metaphysical revolution and affected the development direction of Western philosophy.The main purpose of this thesis is to sort out the ins and outs of the relationship between Being and essence,reveal its origin from ancient Greece,and how it evolved step by step,thus constituting Aquinas’ metaphysical revolution.The form of the thesis is mainly to compare the theoretical disagreement between Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas on the relationship between Being and essence,and explain the origin of this disagreement,where are the disagreement and significance.