aseity
English
editEtymology
editFrom Medieval Latin aseitas (“state of being by itself”), from Classical Latin a se + -itas.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editaseity (countable and uncountable, plural aseities)
- (metaphysics, theology) Usually ascribed to deity: the attribute of being entirely self-derived, in contrast to being derived from or dependent on another; the quality of having within oneself the entire reason for one's being; utter independent self-existence and self-sustenance.
- Antonyms: contingency, createdness, dependence, derivedness
- 1902, William James, “Lecture XVIII: Philosophy”, in The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature […] , New York, N.Y.; London: Longmans, Green, and Co. […], →OCLC, page 439:
- He is Spiritual, for were He composed of physical parts, some other power would have to combine them into the total, and his aseity would thus be contradicted.
Derived terms
editTranslations
editdivine attribute of self-existence