Essence

In philosophy, essence is the attribute or set of attributes that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it loses its identity. Essence is contrasted with accident: a property that the entity or substance has contingency, without which the substance can still retain its identity. The concept originates with Aristotle, who used the Greek expression to ti ên einai (τὸ τί ἦν εἶναι, literally meaning "the what it was to be" and corresponding to the scholastic term quiddity) or sometimes the shorter phrase to ti esti (τὸ τί ἐστι, literally meaning "the what it is" and corresponding to the scholastic term haecceity) for the same idea. This phrase presented such difficulties for its Latin translators that they coined the word essentia (English "essence") to represent the whole expression. For Aristotle and his scholastic followers, the notion of essence is closely linked to that of definition (ὁρισμός horismos).

In the history of western thought, essence has often served as a vehicle for doctrines that tend to individuate different forms of existence as well as different identity conditions for objects and properties; in this eminently logical meaning, the concept has given a strong theoretical and common-sense basis to the whole family of logical theories based on the "possible worlds" analogy set up by Leibniz and developed in the intensional logic from Carnap to Kripke, which was later challenged by "extensionalist" philosophers such as Quine.

Essence (Lucinda Williams album)

Essence is Lucinda Williams' sixth album. It was released in 2001. The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 28, selling about 44,500 copies in its first week. According to Billboard as of February 2008, the album had sold 336,000 copies in the U.S.

Reception

Essence was highly anticipated coming after a three-year gap from her lauded Car Wheels on a Gravel Road and the critical reviews reflect that. Although positive, none rate the album as highly as her breakthrough. Robert Christgau, who raved about Car Wheels, called the album "imperfect" but still praised her artistry saying "[she] is too damn good to deny." Reviewers noted the difference in tone between the two albums with Rolling Stone citing the "willful intimacy" of the music while Spin contrasted its "halting, spare" presentation with Car Wheels "giddy, verbose" one. In a review posted by Salon the album was called "an emotional mess of a masterpiece".

Q listed Essence as one of the best 50 albums of 2001.

Essence (disambiguation)

Essence is the attribute (or set of attributes) that make an object or substance what it fundamentally is.

Essence may also refer to:

WDM

WDM may refer to:

People

Indian locomotive class WDM-2

The class WDM-2 is Indian Railways' workhorse diesel locomotive. The first units were imported fully built from the American Locomotive Company (Alco) in 1962. Since 1964, it has been manufactured in India by the Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW), Varanasi. The model name stands for broad gauge (W), diesel (D), mixed traffic (M) engine. The WDM-2 is the most common diesel locomotive of Indian Railways.

The WDM-2A is a variant of the original WDM-2. These units have been retro-fitted with air brakes, in addition to the original vacuum brakes. The WDM-2B is a more recent locomotive, built with air brakes as original equipment. The WDM-2 locos have a maximum speed of 120 km/h (75 mph), restricted to 100 km/h (62 mph) when run long hood forward - the gear ratio is 65:18.

History

In the early 1960s Indian Railways began conversion of its mainline from steam to diesel locomotives. For this conversion General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD) and the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) were asked to submit designs for new diesel locomotives. Each company submitted prototypes. Indian Railways designated these prototypes the WDM-4 class and the WDM-2 class respectively. Technologically the General Motors WDM-4 was superior to ALCO's WDM-2, but Indian Railways required a transfer of technology agreement that would allow these locomotives to be manufactured in India. General Motors did not agree to the transfer of technology agreement so the ALCO prototype was selected for production. The first few prototype WDM-2s were imported. After Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW) completed construction of its factory in Varanasi, production of the locomotives began in India. The first 12 locos were built using kits imported from ALCO in the United States. After that DLW started manufacturing the WDM-2 locomotives from their own components. Since then over 2,800 locomotives have been manufactured and the WDM-2 has become the most popular locomotive in India.