qua

Qua is a Latin term meaning "in the capacity of" or "as" and is used in philosophy and related disciplines to indicate that a statement concerns something in a particular role, respect, or aspect rather than in general terms.

In English philosophical writing, either "x qua y" or "x, qua y" marks that x is being considered as a y— for example, "Socrates qua man is mortal" asserts mortality when Socrates is understood as a man, not necessarily when he is regarded as a philosopher or citizen. This usage helps separate distinct predicates about the same individual.

The qua construction is helpful for analyses of essence, function, or identity across contexts, and it's common in metaphysics, ethics, and philosophy of mind. It also features in logic and semantics to delimit scope and avoid conflating properties that hold only in one capacity with those that hold generally.

Etymology: borrowed from Latin qua meaning "in which" or "in what respect." Though widely used in scholarly prose, qua is a stylistic device rather than a theory, and its overuse can obscure arguments if not clearly motivated.