Essentialism

(last updated: October 15, 2025)

Summary

The aim of this course is to get an overview of essentialism. Historically speaking, essentialism is predominantly discussed in the context of metaphysics. Recently, though, essentialist ideas have been problematized in social and political discourses; in particular, it has been argued that essentialist ideas give rise to oppression. The seminar will cover these topics too. The aim is to first engage with the philosophical literature (including classic texts by Kripke, Quine, Lewis, and Barcan Marcus) before considering social, political, and psychological discussions of essentialism (including texts by Butler, Carey, Nussbaum, and Sayer) and their relationship to and impact on the more metaphysically oriented debate. No specific background is required and a list of references will be provided in due course.

Syllabus

You can see the syllabus: here

Sessions

1. Week: Introduction

2. Week: Overview, Modal Scepticism

3. Week: Modality and Essence I

4. Week: Modality and Essence II

5. Week: Essentialism Defended

6. Week: Inductive Reasoning

7. Week: Lay Theories & Folk Theories

8. Week: Origins of Categorization

9. Week: Cultural Essentialism

10. Week: Psychological Essentialism

11. Week: Linguistic Essentialism

12. Week: Social Construction

13. Week: Social Justice and Prejudice

14. Week: Feminism and Essentialism

15. Week: Exam