Thingness

Thingness refers to the quality or state of being a 'thing', the essence of an object's existence and its distinction from non-things like concepts or processes. It encompasses an object's concrete, tangible nature, its discrete identity, and its separateness from its surroundings. Exploring thingness involves understanding how something occupies space, possesses physical properties, and interacts with other entities. It delves into the object's material reality, its perceivability, and its function within a specific context, offering a lens for appreciating an object's inherent properties.

Thingness meaning with examples

• The artist's fascination lay not just in the subject's beauty, but in the raw thingness of the stone, the way light reflected off its jagged surface, the weight and texture in her hands as she carved the sculpture. This emphasized the object's tangible reality.
• In minimalist art, the focus is often on the pure thingness of the object - its geometric form, its material composition, devoid of any decorative embellishments or symbolic representation. This lets viewers directly experience the object's form and space.
• The child's delight in holding a smooth, polished pebble stemmed from its tactile thingness: the cool weight in her palm, the way it fit perfectly in her hand, a simple experience.
• Philosophically, the poem explored the thingness of a worn, forgotten photograph. It examined the photograph as a concrete object holding an un-erasable record of time and experiences, representing memory.