Exceptionalism is the perception or belief that a species, country, society, institution, movement, individual, or time period is " exceptional" (i.e., unusual or extraordinary). The term carries the implication, whether or not specified, that the referent is superior in some way. Although the idea appears to have developed with respect to an era, today it is particularly applied with respect to particular nations or regions. Other uses of the term include medical and genetic exceptionalism.

History

The German romantic philosopher-historians, especially

Johann Gottfried Herder Johann Gottfried von Herder ( , ; 25 August 174418 December 1803) was a German philosopher, theologian, poet, and literary critic. He is associated with the Enlightenment, '' Sturm und Drang'', and Weimar Classicism. Biography Born in Mohr ...

(1744–1803) and Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762–1814), dwelt on the theme of uniqueness in the late 18th century. They de-emphasized the political state and instead emphasized the uniqueness of the ''

Volk The German noun ''Volk'' () translates to people, both uncountable in the sense of ''people'' as in a crowd, and countable (plural ''Völker'') in the sense of '' a people'' as in an ethnic group or nation (compare the English term '' folk ...

'', comprising the whole people, their languages and traditions. Each nation, considered as a cultural entity with its own distinctive history, possessed a "national spirit", or "soul of the people" (in German: ''Volksgeist''). This idea had a strong influence in the growth of nationalism in 19th-century European lands—especially in ones ruled by

élite In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. D ...

s from somewhere else. Claims of exceptionality have been made for many countries, including the United States, Australia (especially in South Australia), China, France, Germany, Greece, Pakistan, Imperial Japan, Iran, Serbia, Israel, North Korea, South Africa, Spain, the UK, the USSR, and Thailand. Historians have added many other cases, including historic empires such as China, the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom ...

, and

ancient India According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by ...

, along with a wide range of minor kingdoms in history.

Criticism

Belief in exceptionalism can represent erroneous thought analogous to

historicism Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying their history, that is, by studying the process by which they came about. The term is widely ...

in that it overemphasizes peculiarities in an analysis and ignores or downplays meaningful comparisons . A group may assert ''exceptionalism'' in order to exaggerate the appearance of difference, to invoke a wider latitude of action, and to avoid recognition of similarities that would reduce perceived justifications . This can be an example of special pleading, a form of spurious argumentation that ignores relevant bases for meaningful comparisons . Exceptionalism is often based on poor historical knowledge.

Separateness

J. Bradford DeLong James Bradford "Brad" DeLong (born June 24, 1960) is an economic historian who is a professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley. DeLong served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury in the Clint ...

has used the term "exceptionalism" to describe the economic growth of post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

. Exceptionalism can represent an error analogous to

in assuming that only peculiarities are relevant to analysis, while overlooking meaningful comparisons. Political scientist Noritada Matsuda writes, " at is seemingly exceptional in one country may be found in other countries." In ideologically-driven debates, a group may assert ''exceptionalism'', with or without the term, in order to exaggerate the appearance of difference, perhaps to create an atmosphere permissive of a wider latitude of action, and to avoid recognition of similarities that would reduce perceived justifications. If unwarranted, this represents an example of special pleading, a form of spurious argumentation that ignores relevant bases for meaningful comparison. The term "exceptionalism" can imply criticism of a tendency to remain separate from others. For example, the reluctance of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

government to join various

international treaties A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pe ...

is sometimes called "exceptionalist".

Medical exceptionalism

Use of the term " HIV exceptionalism" implies that AIDS is a contagious disease that is or should be treated differently from other contagions or entails benefits not available to those suffering from other diseases.

Notes

References

* George M. Fredrickson. "From Exceptionalism to Variability: Recent Developments in Cross-National Comparative History," ''Journal of American History,'' Vol. 82, No. 2 (Sep., 1995), pp. 587–60
in JSTOR
* Gallant, Thomas W. "Greek Exceptionalism and Contemporary Historiography: New Pitfalls and Old Debates," ''Journal of Modern Greek Studies,'' Volume 15, Number 2, October 1997, pp. 209–16 * Michael Kammen, "The Problem of American Exceptionalism: A Reconsideration," ''American Quarterly,'' Vol. 45, No. 1 (Mar., 1993), pp. 1–4
in JSTOR
* Seymour Martin Lipset, ''American Exceptionalism: A Double-Edged Sword'' (1996) * Lund, Joshua. "Barbarian Theorizing and the Limits of Latin American Exceptionalism," ''Cultural Critique,'' 47, Winter 2001, pp. 54–9

* Pei, Minxin. "The Puzzle of East Asian Exceptionalism," ''Journal of Democracy,'' Volume 5, Number 4, October 1994, pp. 90–103 * Thompson, Eric C. "Singaporean Exceptionalism and Its Implications for ASEAN Regionalism," ''Contemporary Southeast Asia,'' Volume 28, Number 2, August 2006, pp. 183–206.