Essence as free creation of reason by Xabier Zubiri

• Main Author: Francisco Güell Pelayo
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Universidad Pontificia Comillas 2015-01-01
• Series: Pensamiento. Revista de Investigación e Información Filosófica
• Subjects: essence, Zubiri, reason, free creation, Ignacio Ellacuría, intelligence, hypothesis
• Online Access: https://revistas.upcomillas.es/index.php/pensamiento/article/view/4671

Some interpretations of the philosophy of Xabier Zubiri question whether it is possible to find the essence of real things, and others do without the essence when giving a formal definition of substantivity, when they say that the essence is a free creation of reason. In this article, I analyze and criticize these interpretations, and explain the way in which Zubiri describes the free creation of the essence. As such, in addition to analyzing Zubiri’s texts, I often refer to the critique that Ignacio Ellacuría made of those who understand the essence as a conceptual construction.