当代的文学反本质论在解构主义的语境下重新提出了文学本质论为何及其何以可能的问题，对上述问题的回应需要从存在论层面对文学本质论的内涵及其可能性进行探讨。文学的本质指涉文学存在，文学本质论是对文学存在的理论阐释。文学本质论是文学研究的首要课题、文艺学的元理论。文学本质论奠基其中的存在论区域显示为“文学是什么”“文学如何是”和“文学是”三个区间的区分着的统一。对文学本质论的存在论区域的清查，使形形色色的文学本质论的合法性根据及其边界得以洞察，从而使具体形态的文学本质论的本质性力量得以释放，文学理论研究乃至文学研究由此才得到源始的奠基。

Under the background of deconstructionism, contemporary literary anti-essentialism has posed questions such as: what is the theory about the essence of literature and how does it become possible? To answer these questions, one needs to study the connotation and possibility of theories about the essence of literature from an ontological perspective. The essence of literature refers to the being of literature. The theory about the essence of literature is thus the theoretical interpretation of being of literature, which is also the primary subject of literary studies and the metatheory of literary theory. The ontological area on which the theory about the essence of literature is based exhibits a dialectical unity of such three areas: "what literature is", "how literature is" and "the being of literature". An investigation of the ontological theory about the essence of literature enables us to have insight into the legitimacy basis and boundary of various relevant theories. When the essential power of theory about the essence of literature has been released, the studies of literary theory and even literature could have original foundation.