A Flaw in Aquinas’s Case for the Essence-Existence Distinction
Aquinas tries to show essence is really distinct from existence via an argument from knowledge. The proof is reminiscent of Mary’s Room, which purports to establish that the mind is not purely physical, since one can know all physical facts without knowing all mental facts. But like that knowledge argument against physicalism, Aquinas’s argument fails. Nonetheless, his conclusion is plausible.