Essentialism is the belief and practice centered around a philosophical claim that for any specific kind of entity it is at least theoretically possible to specify a finite list of characteristics, all of which any entity must have to belong to the group defined. A member of a specific kind of entity may possess other characteristics that are neither needed to establish its membership nor preclude its membership. The definition, in philosophical contexts, of the word "essence" is very close to the definition of form (Gr. eidos). Many definitions of essence harken back to the ancient Greek hylomorphic understanding of the formation of the things of this world. According to that account, the structure and real existance of any thing can be understood by analogy to an artifact produced by a craftsman. The craftsman requires hyle (timber or wood) and a model or plan or idea in his own mind according to which the wood is worked to give it the indicated contour or form (morphe). In Plato's philosophy, things were said to come into being in this world by the action of a demiurge (Gr. demiourgos) who works to form chaos into ordered entities. (See Plato, Timaeus.) Aristotle was the first to use the terms hyle and morphe. According to his explanation, all entities have two aspects, "matter" and "form." It is the particular form imposed that gives some matter its identity, its quiddity or "whatness" (i.e., its "what it is).

Plato was an essentialist since he believed in ideal forms of which every object is just a poor copy. This belief is clearly manifested in his famous parable of the cave.

Karl Popper splits the (ambiguous) term Realism into Essentialism and Realism. He uses Essentialism whenever he means the opposite of Nominalism, and Realism only as opposed to Idealism.

See: structuralism

Contrast with: constructionism, poststructuralism, existentialism

Essentialism is the practice of categorizing a group of people by a few fixed characteristics while not allowing for change or variation in the group. Examples of this include racism, sexism, and homophobia.

Essentialism is an education theory that stresses rigorous teaching of basic subjects.

Biological Essentialism

In biology, a theory according to which all species are unchanging throughout time would be deemed an essentialist theory. Such an essentialist theory would directly contradict Darwin's widely accepted theory of Evolution, according to which organisms can gain new characteristics and can lose old characteristics over the passage of time due to mutations.

For more information on Essentialism and related topics, see the Dictionary of Philosophy by Dagobert D. Runes (Littlefield, Adams & Co., 1972). See the articles on essence, page 97, quiddity, p. 262, form,110, hylomorphism, 133, individuation,145, and matter, 191.