Neo-Thomism

The Problem of Being in Neo-Thomism

The central component of Neo-Thomist doctrine is ontology—the theory of being—which derives from the classical philosophical issues of the medieval period. Neo-Thomist ontology is grounded in the distinction between being "in itself" (esse) and the "existing" (ens), meaning all that is not being itself but merely possesses being—what is characterized by being. This distinction leads to a peculiar dualism between being and existence. Being is that which exists "in itself" or "from itself," while existence refers only to something endowed with being or that has attained being. In other words, the difference between being and existence is the distinction between uncreated and created being, between God and the world. Thus, God is pure being, or being as such. Being constitutes the essence of God: God is the one whose essence is being itself.

It is important to note that in classical philosophy, the essence (essentia) of anything is its idea, which contains complete information about that thing. Existence (existentia) stands in contrast to essence. For created things, essence and existence do not coincide; the existence of a thing does not necessarily follow from the mere presence of its idea (for example, the idea of dinosaurs exists, yet dinosaurs themselves do not). However, Christian theology postulates the identity of essence and existence for God—since God exists not contingently but necessarily.

Two distinct interpretations of the formula "essence equals existence" are possible. In traditional theology, this formula emphasizes essence: God's essence is such that it necessarily entails His existence. In other words, it is sufficient to formulate the correct idea of God to acknowledge Him as existing (this principle underpins Anselm of Canterbury's famous proof of God's existence). Thus, God's existence requires special proofs; from this perspective, it is self-evident.

Saint Thomas Aquinas, followed by Neo-Thomists, reverses this formula (essence = existence) and emphasizes existence. God's existence does not flow from His essence; rather, God's essence is existence as such. Consequently, essence here is something derivative of existence.

This idea of the primacy of existence over essence (which Saint Thomas borrowed from Aristotle's philosophy) defines the most essential traits of Thomistic and Neo-Thomistic philosophy. In particular, from the primacy of existence over essence follows the impossibility of a priori (i.e., pre-experiential) proofs of God's existence—God's existence cannot be deduced from any particular idea of God. Such proofs are deemed "unscientific" by Neo-Thomists. At the same time, they acknowledge that God's existence is not self-evident, thus requiring proof.

Thomistic theology attempts to justify God's existence indirectly—through an analysis of the created world. By examining the created world, we inevitably inductively progress from it to its first cause—God. God, in relation to the world, acts as the first cause (Creator), the unmoved mover, the standard of perfection, the goal toward which the world is directed in its development. God is also the force that governs the entire world, through which the world presents us with its perfection and harmony.

The identity of essence and existence in God is interpreted by Neo-Thomists as the fullness of divine being. Since God is being as such, He is not a specific, defined being. He is "All," that is, complete, fulfilled being, in which all thoughts have already been realized; everything exists in reality.

Essence is generally treated as a "limitation" of being; it is not being as such, but "this"—a specific, definite, limited being. Based on essences (Aristotelian "forms"), all earthly things, including humans, are created by God. Thus, any thing is a limited likeness of God. From this, the possibility arises of knowing God "by analogy" with the world of created being.

Philosophy, therefore, not only can and must prove God's existence, but by exploring partial likenesses of God in the created world, it can also begin to discern the divine essence through them. However, such knowledge is inevitably limited—finite human reason cannot encompass the infinite fullness of divine being; thus, the method of positive theology (by analogy with the created world) must be complemented by the method of negative theology. In the latter case, the fundamental distinction between God and the world is especially emphasized, as well as the ineffability of the divine in terms of human language and forms of thought. Human thought is destined only to know finite things—specific being (essence)—but cannot grasp being as such—in all its fullness.

This, in broad strokes, outlines the ontology of Neo-Thomism.