Properly speaking, the doctrine that at least some objects have essences; that is, they have some of their properties essentially, not just because they are described in a certain way (a bishop is essentially in holy orders, yet could be defrocked without ceasing to be himself) but because they must have those properties to be themselves.
You might perhaps have been of the opposite sex, while still being yourself, but might you have been a horse?
Under the influence of empiricism in general and logical positivism in particular, essentialism has been unpopular.
Recently, though, it has enjoyed a revival especially led by Saul Kripke and Hilary Putnam.
Source:
C Kirwan, ‘How Strong are the Objections to Essence?’, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society (1970-71)
Table of Contents
- 1 Videos
- 2 Related Products
- 2.1 Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
- 2.2 Essentialism: Do less but accomplish more, guide to identifying the essential things, focus on and getting them done
- 2.3 Essentialism: Your Guide to The Power of Less: Set your Mind with Practical Tips to Make Your Life More Manageable and Become a Happy Essentialist
- 2.4 Real Essentialism (Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy, Vol. 11)
- 2.5 Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
- 2.6 Essentialism: Bundle: The Art of Less and More of Less
- 2.7 Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
- 2.8 ESSENTIALISM: Rediscover The Power Of Less With a STOIC Mind: Free Yourself From Clutter, Debt, Stress - The art of flying away from superfluous
- 2.9 The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results
- 2.10 Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems and Drawings
- species essentialism
- causal theory of names
- Saul Kripke
- Hilary Putnam
- verifiability (or verification) principle
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