Essentialism

Essentialism is the belief and practice centered on 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.

Psychological/feminist essentialism

In cognitive psychology, essentialism refers to people's everyday tendency to assume, often unconsciously, that objects in nature have hidden essential properties that determine what kind of objects they are (e.g. all dogs have a 'dog essence'). Some experts claim that essentialism emerges very early in human development and is cross-cultural universal, while others contend that it is a late-developing consequence of belonging to a culture in which essentialist reasoning is encouraged. Psychological essentialism is theory about a system of people's beliefs and is neutral with respect to factual accuracy of these beliefs.

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In feminism, Yashar Keramati understands that essentialism constitutes that women have pre-determined characteristics. This goes beyond simple body parts, those being the vagina and the penis. Rather, this means that women are born 'emotional,' 'inferior,' 'irrational' and so on. Therefore, essentialism could circulate false information about women which results in lowering their status. Essentialsm can also characterize different races in a similar manner, and can be seen as a destructive viewpoint.

Related Topics:
Feminism - Yashar Keramati

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