English

Noun

beingness ‎(usually uncountable, plural beingnesses)

1. The state or quality of being being; existence.
   • 1865, James Hutchison Stirling, The Secret of Hegel, page 263:

     Thus, from every example, we may see that Quantity always concerns a Beingness, which is indifferent to the very determinateness which it now, or at any time, has.

   • 1988, Leo Strauss, What is Political Philosophy?, ISBN 0226777138, page 253:

     In the good painting the stone is no longer a stone, i.e., something which we could not possibly be: in the good painting the stone has become visible in its beingness; only in the work of art is the stone truly.

   • 2004, Richard H. Jones, Mysticism and Morality: A New Look at Old Questions, ISBN 0739107844, page 391:

     The two approaches remain distinct ways of knowing: mystics are interested in the changeless beingness outside of time, while scientists are only interested in understanding the causes of the changes within the world of time.

Usage notes

This word is often found in Scientology texts.

Related terms

• beingdom
• beinghood
• doingness
• nothingness