Czy relacja – najsłabszy rodzaj bytowości w metafizyce św. Tomasza – może stanowić fundament realnego bytu narodu?

Relation is defined by St. Thomas as ordo unius ad aliud, in which three elements – the subject (the thing that is referred), object (the thing to which the subject is referred) and finally the cause of this referring (ground or fundament) – can be distinguished. Though relations are real, they are dependent in the order of existence upon their elements and, in a similar way as accidental properties, are forms of being secondarily added to a substance. Being of a relation is added to that of a substance and connected with it. Relation existing by virtue of its subject is the most imperfect being (imperfectissimum esse). It is the weakest form of beingness (esse) because it requires not only previous existence of a substance but also existence of other accidents that are causing relations. However, relations are the least perfect beings because a proper principle of relation presupposes its referring to something else (since its existence implies the reference to its opposed terms). Relation is an accident, because it inheres in the being of its subject. Furthermore, it depends for its being on the existence (esse) of something else besides this subject. A nation thus is a relation- based community that has an accidental character. It means that it does not exist in its own right, but always has existence due to individuals creating a community as a collective. The very idea of nation is based on social dimension of an individual, as well as on pursuit of the common good. A nation is a specific organism composed of individuals united by blood ties, common ancestry, territory, history, and broadly understood culture intricately connected through various relations.