bestaandheids

Bestaandheids is a Dutch term used in philosophy to refer to the state or quality of existing. It is formed from bestaan, meaning to exist, and the suffix -heid, which creates abstract nouns such as existence or beingness. In Dutch philosophical writing, bestaandheids is employed to discuss what it means for something to exist, rather than to name a specific doctrine or system.

The term is most commonly found in compounds and phrases that describe aspects related to existence, such as bestaandheidskenmerken (characteristics of existence) or bestaandheidsbewijzen (evidence of existence). It is not generally used as the label of a distinct school of thought; rather, it functions as a linguistic tool within broader debates in ontology, metaphysics, and phenomenology.

Conceptually, bestaandheids concerns the conditions, criteria, or status of being. It intersects with central ontological questions about what counts as existence, how existence is ascribed to entities, and how existence relates to essence or property. In phenomenology and existential philosophy, discussions may emphasize how beings are given in experience and how their bestaandheid is disclosed or interpreted by conscious life.

In Dutch philosophy, discussions about existence typically use terms such as bestaan and ontologie, with bestaandheids functioning as a descriptive or analytical notion rather than a standalone theory. The term appears mainly as a linguistic tool to frame questions about being within broader debates on reality and existence.

See also: bestaan; ontologie; zijn; wijsbegeerte.