The Distinction between Being and Existant Being in Boethius, Compared with the Distinction between Being and Quiddity in Farabi

Aristotle’s theory of being and existent have been interpreted and investigated throughout the history of philosophy. Among the important and influential commentators of Aristotle in this issue (in Christianity and Islam) are Boethius and Farabi. The distinction between being and existent in Boethius is a commentary of Aristotle’s theory with a Christian approach which can be said to be an attempt to justify Trinity; and the distinction between being and quiddity in Farabi is a basis for the distinction between necessary existent and contingent existent, to prove then the existence of necessary existent, i.e. God, and to justify the creation by the theory of emanation. In this article, after the explanation of the issue of distinction, we will try to show the motivations of these two philosophers for establishing these distinctions and the consequences of them in their philosophy and in the history of philosophy.