Essences and Time in Aristotle's De Anima

Aristotle's De Anima explores the nature of the soul, and how thought, reasoning, and perception manifest within the human experience. A key concept to his arguments was the idea of essences-fundamental truths that define the nature of a thing. In this presentation, it will be argued that Aristotle's concept of "the now" provides the crucial moment in which essences are revealed, allowing them to be grasped beyond the distortions of temporal progression. While human reasoning unfolds sequentially, layering past, present, and future experiences to construct our understanding, this process introduces the potential for error. If essences were apprehended in the same way, they would be subject to fragmentation and would no longer be indivisible, eternal truths. Instead, essences must be grasped in an undivided moment to preserve their purity. In De Anima, Aristotle describes "the now" as both a dividing and unifying element of time-bridging our past and future experiences while remaining independent from the sequential flow of time. Further, he describes "the now" as a continuous present moment that unifies our experiences while existing in an indivisible capacity. This continuity allows essences to manifest within the human experience without being altered by the temporal flow of time. Ultimately, Aristotle's "now" provides the key to our human ability to grasp essences as they truly are-unchanging, indivisible, and eternal.