A Conversation for Heidegger's Ultimate Question
contingency and necessity
Brother Andúril - Guardian Started conversation Mar 28, 2005
Just a little quibble about contingency and essentiality. Essential is not the opposite of contingent. I know the words seem interchangable but as a philosophy student I must protest.
The word 'essential' etymologically means 'of the essence'. Now, Aristotle said the essence is what makes a thing that particular thing and nothing else; ie. if the essence was removed it would no longer be that thing.
Now, to say that the world is essential means that reality would not be reality without the world. This is different from saying the world is NECESSARY which means that the word cannot go out of existence. Saying something is essential merely means that reality would only be different without the world; however, it would still exist.
I think therefore that the word essential should be replacd with necessary. Sorry about that, but I hate to see Wittgenstein mentioned in the same entry as something with incorrect philosophical language.
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contingency and necessity
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