The Originality of the Concept of Subsistence in the work of Jacques Maritain

Abstract:

Jacques Maritain presents Thomism as the most valid form of existentialism inasmuch as it affirms the primacy of existence yet without denying the essence, as many existentialists have done. In that primordial metaphysical relation, subsistence is the mode or state of the essence that introduces it into the existential order so that, in this way, it can exist. This concept, which begins with formulations that are very close to those proposed by Cajetan, are developed with a particular vision of Thomistic existentialism and in it his personalism finds its metaphysical foundation. The objective of this work is present precisely this notion and its development in the thought of Maritain.

Key words:

Jacques Maritain, subsistence, esse, existence, essence, person, metaphysics.