Entia

Entia is the Latin plural of ens, a philosophical term meaning beings or entities—things that exist. In classical and medieval philosophy, entia is used to refer to the objects of ontological investigation, encompassing both concrete particulars and, in some contexts, abstract or universal objects regarded as having a form of existence.

Historically, entia played a central role in Scholastic and Aristotelian thought. Medieval theologians and philosophers discussed entia as the real objects of science and metaphysics, distinguishing among different kinds of beings such as substances and their properties, or universals and individuals. The term appears in Latin writings and commentaries that translate or reinterpret Aristotle’s categories, often within debates about the status of universals, the nature of form and matter, and the relationship between essence and existence.

In contemporary philosophy, the term entia is largely of historical interest, with scholars more commonly speaking of beings, entities, or objects. When used, entia typically denotes the broad class of things that a theory intends to explain or analyze, including physical objects, minds, abstract objects like numbers, and even fictional entities in certain discussions. The study of entia thus remains associated with ontology, the branch of philosophy concerned with what exists and how such existence is structured.

See also: ontology; ens; essence; universals; realism and nominalism; abstract objects. Entia as a term illustrates how scholars have long framed questions about what exists and how different kinds of existence are to be categorized and understood.