Non-essentialism is a
philosophical position which states that "things" (including but not limited to ideas, inanimate objects, living beings, and purported religious or metaphysical
entities) do not contain an inherent
essence that is inseparable from their being.
Fundamentally, the concept of non-essentialism is the opposite of
essentialism, and may be considered similar to the concept of
anti-foundationalism. Non-essentialism might also be defined cataphatically (i.e. affirmatively; see
cataphatic theology) as the belief that for any entity, there are no specific traits or
ground of being which entities of that kind must possess to be considered "that entity."
Non-essentialism is not restricted to general philosophical speculation. It is also found in academic disciplines such as
sociology
Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
,
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...
,
theology
Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
,
history
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
/
historiography
Historiography is the study of the methods used by historians in developing history as an academic discipline. By extension, the term ":wikt:historiography, historiography" is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiog ...
and
science
Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
. How non-essentialism is used in these discourses varies given their different content and subject matter.
Criticism
Edward Feser describes the position as not only untenable logically but psychologically impossible. In his book ''Aristotle's Revenge'' he argues that one cannot say the universe essentially does not have an essence without violating the
Law of noncontradiction.
[ Edward Feser ``Aristotle's Revenge, The Metaphysical Foundations of Physical and Biological Science`` (editionae scholasticae, 2019) p.82.]
See also
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Adiaphora
*
Anatta
*
Antinaturalism
*
Essentialism
Essentialism is the view that objects have a set of attributes that are necessary to their Identity (philosophy), identity. In early Western thought, Platonic idealism held that all things have such an "essence"—an Theory of forms, "idea" or "f ...
*
Existentialism
*
Nominalism
In metaphysics, nominalism is the view that universals and abstract objects do not actually exist other than being merely names or labels. There are two main versions of nominalism. One denies the existence of universals—that which can be inst ...
*
Object-oriented ontology
*
Social constructionism
Social constructionism is a term used in sociology, social ontology, and communication theory. The term can serve somewhat different functions in each field; however, the foundation of this Conceptual framework, theoretical framework suggests ...
*
Structuralism
Structuralism is an intellectual current and methodological approach, primarily in the social sciences, that interprets elements of human culture by way of their relationship to a broader system. It works to uncover the structural patterns t ...
Citations
References
Essentialism
Substance theory
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