A Dictionary of Philosophy, Third Edition
. A nominal essence is a group of terms used to define a concept. For example, if I define a horse as ‘anything with a mane and four legs that neighs’, then this phrase or group of terms forms the nominal essence of horse. A real essence may be a group of concepts or UNIVERSALS objectively given in nature independently of our definitions (e.g. Socrates’ question ‘What is courage, really and truly and irrespective of mere human opinions?’ presupposes that courage has a real essence); ‘essence’ by itself usually means this, which derives from Aristotle and normally applies to species, though sometimes to individuals (see FORM, HAECCEITY).
Alternatively (with Locke) a real essence is an underlying structure of an object, e.g. an atomic structure. See also FORM.
J.Locke, An Essay concerning Human Understanding, 1690, book 3, chapters 3–6.
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