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What is essentialism?

by soneca 3y ago

ianai 3y ago
Basically a thing is only the sum of its parts. Dictionary defines it as the backwards of existentialism: essence precedes existence
xattt 3y ago
Apparently, it’s reducing that individuals are what they are, because of the circumstances that created them (like root cause analysis). This is in contrast to assigning some other factor that may be that might be too paternalistic, too taboo or too “blamey” to consider (like incompetence or a lack of spirituality/belief). It’s a bit of a mindfuck for me, because how else are you going to explain a given situation without looking at the factors that created them.
atleastoptimal 3y ago
Essentialism is the idea that there is a pure form of something tied to its classification. Basically it's allowing classification to supersede qualification. Originally it was used by right-leaning schools of thought to justify racism and sexism. They viewed women and minorities as "essentially" inferior as an essential factor of their classification as such. Now it is used by left-leaning centers to create narratives of human. They view differences in human attainment essentially the cause of certain social factors, individuals and institutions that are justifiably characterized as such because they are "essentially" evil.
- orwin 3y ago
  'liberal-leaning' not left leaning. And they're winning. They already expurged feminism from emancipation, replacing it with empowerment. I thought BLM was the BPP successor, but weirdly, any leader referencing the rainbow coalition get shafted, as it seems that Fred Hampton is waaay better as a martyr than as a thought leader. But he was assassinated because he was a Marxist who reassembled minorities, not because he was black. And declaring institutions are influencing human behavior is not essentialism. 'l'existence précède l' essence' apply to living being, human constructs can be essencialized, and that's why people believe in essentialism, or at least that's how I understood Sartre.

What is essentialism?

by soneca 3y ago

What is essentialism?

Basically a thing is only the sum of its parts. Dictionary defines it as the backwards of existentialism: essence precedes existence

xattt 3y ago

Apparently, it’s reducing that individuals are what they are, because of the circumstances that created them (like root cause analysis). This is in contrast to assigning some other factor that may be that might be too paternalistic, too taboo or too “blamey” to consider (like incompetence or a lack of spirituality/belief). It’s a bit of a mindfuck for me, because how else are you going to explain a given situation without looking at the factors that created them.

atleastoptimal 3y ago

Essentialism is the idea that there is a pure form of something tied to its classification. Basically it's allowing classification to supersede qualification. Originally it was used by right-leaning schools of thought to justify racism and sexism. They viewed women and minorities as "essentially" inferior as an essential factor of their classification as such. Now it is used by left-leaning centers to create narratives of human. They view differences in human attainment essentially the cause of certain social factors, individuals and institutions that are justifiably characterized as such because they are "essentially" evil.

orwin 3y ago
'liberal-leaning' not left leaning. And they're winning. They already expurged feminism from emancipation, replacing it with empowerment. I thought BLM was the BPP successor, but weirdly, any leader referencing the rainbow coalition get shafted, as it seems that Fred Hampton is waaay better as a martyr than as a thought leader. But he was assassinated because he was a Marxist who reassembled minorities, not because he was black. And declaring institutions are influencing human behavior is not essentialism. 'l'existence précède l' essence' apply to living being, human constructs can be essencialized, and that's why people believe in essentialism, or at least that's how I understood Sartre.