ab esse

[ahb-es-se, ab-es-ee]

Latin.

1. (in logic and philosophy) from existence, as used in the Latin phrase ab esse ad posse valet consequentia, meaning “From the fact that something exists, it follows that it is possible.”

Example Sentences

Esse substantiæ non dependet ab esse alterius sicut ei inhærens, licet omnia dependeant a Deo sicut a causa prima.”—St.

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It is a very important axiom of the schoolmen in this case—that, a posse ad esse non valet consequentia, you can draw no inference from the possibility of a thing to its reality, but that, in the reverse order, ab esse ad posse, the inference is inevitable: if it is, or if it ever has been—then of necessity it can be.

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