I suspect our own Andy Blunden wrote the entry copied below on Essentialism
in the Encyclopedia of Marxism on the Marxist Internet Archives. He
captures my general understanding of the term and its origins and offers an
thoughtful discussion. Googling around on this term shows it has obtained
a variety of uses and meanings. It also has a history, for example, in
educational philosophy in the form "educational essentialism." I include
this as a reminder of how words often travel multiple historical threads.
- Steve
http://www.marxists.org/glossary/terms/e/s.htm
Essentialism
"Essentialism" is an ambiguous word, like the term "Essence" from which it
is derived, generally depending on whether the Platonic/Aristotlean or
Hegelian genealogy is referred to. The word was introduced in modern times
by Karl Popper in his 1945 work The Open Society. Essentialism is the
assertion that there exists some meaning behind what is immediate given to
sensuous perception (phenomenon). Popper took the meaning of 'essence' from
the Aristotlean genealogy but held that meaning was constructed by
institutions and social practices, and it was the business of science to
construct definitions reflecting these objectively existing 'essences'.
Generally-speaking, "essentialism" is used with a negative connotation in
contrast to subjectivist constructivism in feminist or postmodern social
theory. That is to say, "essentialism" is taken to mean that there is an
essential meaning of something that is not given in perception (perception
being taken to mean sensuous contemplation), in contrast to constructivism
which is taken to mean that meaning is constructed by the subject in
practical or critical activity. Broadly speaking the term has the same
meaning as "metaphysics" had for positivism.
For Marxism, constructivism and essentialism are not mutually exclusive,
since the meaning of essence is taken from the Hegelian genealogy rather
than the subjective idealist current and is understood as social and
historical, critical activity. Thus, all social and cognitive processes do
have a meaning which is indeed "constructed" by the subject, but the
subject is a social subject, rather than an individual, whose activity is
socially and historically conditioned. In line with the Hegelian genealogy
of philosophical terms in Marxism, the "essence" which is revealed by
social practice is the dialectical unfolding of the thing through
successively deeper and deeper meanings. Essentialism then is concerned not
with some final essence which can never be revealed, but rather is
concerned with the process of revealing ever deeper meanings.
"Essentialism" is often taken to mean the rejection of the possibility of
different, opposed meanings being attached to a thing. However, for Marxism
such opposing, contradictory meanings are the very nature of essential
development.
*********************************
from http://www.fact-index.com/e/ed/educational_essentialism.html
Essentialists believe that children should learn traditional basic
subjects. Essentialists believe that these should be learned thoroughly and
rigorously. An essentialist program normally teaches children
progressively, from less complex skills to more complex.
An Essentialist will usually teach some set subjects similar to Reading,
Writing, Literature, Foreign Languages, History, Math, Science, Art, and
Music.
William Bagley
(<http://www.fact-index.com/e/ed/../../1/18/1874.html>1874-<http://www.fact-index.com/e/ed/../../1/19/1946.html>1946)
was an important historical Essentialist.
<end>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue Nov 09 2004 - 11:42:59 PST