What is supposedly ‘essence’ is ‘form’ to another essence at a different level which in turn is ‘form’ to another essence and all the way down to some turtle back and infinite regression.
For example the external human body organs are the forms while its essence are the cells.
Whilst cells are essence to organs as forms, cells are forms of the essence of the individual human DNA.
The individual DNA is form to the essence of human species.
The human species is merely a universal that do not exists in reality.
Here we end up with the till the cows come home ‘Problem of Universal,’
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_(metaphysics#Problem_of_universals
On the mental side the human essence is drilled down to human consciousness which is another till the cows come home issue.
So what we have is, what is the human’s essence, is always relative and conditional to a perspective, e.g. human_ness in terms of DNA or thoughts in terms of consciousness.
Thus as long as the human essence is qualified to some condition or perspective, there are no issues. This is the empirical self, the “I think” that is conditioned up living humans and terminate upon mortality.
Often the main contention is the claim of an absolute human essence [the constant permanent soul] that do not die after physical death but continue to live eternally in some heaven or location.
It is impossible for a permanent essence or soul [the “I AM”] that survives after physical death.