 For instance, if x is a particular water molecule, we may say that it is a part of the essence of that water molecule that it exists only if some atoms of hydrogen and oxygen exist. In other words, water molecules essentially depend for their existence on there being atoms of the kind hydrogen and oxygen. It may be helpful to introduce a distinction between individual and general essences in this connection. (EDEG) as applied to the case of water certainly applies to each and every water molecule rather than just one of them. Accordingly, when we speak of the essence of water in this context, we are not referring to the individual essence of any particular water molecule, but to the general essence of the natural kind water. (EDEG) concerns what an entity depends upon for its general essence (e.g., what makes something count as a water molecule), whereas (EDE) concerns what an entity depends upon for its individual essence (e.g., what makes something the particular water molecule it is, as opposed to any other). (For further discussion of this distinction between individual and general essence, see Lowe 2008.)