Being qua Being

“Being qua being” in philosophy, particularly in Aristotle’s metaphysics, refers to the study of things as they are, stripped of their specific characteristics and considered solely in their capacity as existing. It’s about understanding the nature of existence itself, the fundamental aspects of being that make something a being. 

• Metaphysics and the Science of Being: Aristotle’s metaphysics, or “first philosophy,” is the science of being qua being. It investigates the ultimate nature of reality, seeking to understand what it means for something to exist in the first place.
• “Being” in General: Aristotle’s “being” is not just about specific things (like a cat or a tree), but about the general concept of what it means for something to be anything. It’s the shared characteristic of all existing things. 
• Studying Being Qua Being: When philosophers discuss “being qua being,” they are focusing on the features of something that exist solely in virtue of it being, not because of any other property it may have. For example, a chair, in its being, has the property of existence. Its being a chair is a secondary property, not the focus of being qua being. 
• Substance: Aristotle considered substance to be the primary form of being, as it is what is said to exist without being predicated of anything else. 
• The Extension Problem: A central question in the interpretation of Aristotle’s metaphysics is whether the science of being qua being studies everything that exists, or only substances. 
• Heidegger and Being: Martin Heidegger’s philosophy, particularly in his work “Being and Time,” also grapples with the concept of being, asking why there is something rather than nothing, and exploring the nature of presence as a fundamental aspect of being.