Here Goes Heidegger In A Nutshell

Aristotelian Essence, Cancelled

Heidegger criticizes Aristotle’s study of beings (“What is?”, the question treated in Aristotle’s Physics and Metaphysics) because it assumes things/objects as the primary focus for the study of Being.

For Aristotle there are things that occur naturally (like trees and animals) and things that are made or produced, like chairs and houses. The essence of a naturally occurring thing is given with its nature — so for example, an acorn’s essence is fulfilled when it becomes an oak tree. The essence…