Costin Ana-Maria-Elena Sociologie, Seria 1, Gr. 2 Seminar: M.C.

Esenialismul

Esenialismul este o modalitate a gndirii magice de a interpreta lumea, i anume credina c obiectele din jur au o proprietate supranatural, fundamental i etern - esena. (Ex: n geometria euclidian: triunghiurile, indiferent de form sau mrime rmn tot triunghiuri.) [disponibil la: http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/04/still_just_a_lizard.php, n data de 26/10/2010]. ESENIALSM s. n. 1. orientare metafizic, dogmatic care postuleaz existena unor caliti absolute ale realului. 2. orientare n pedagogia american care vede educaia ca transmitere a motenirii culturale, ce conine valorile spirituale fundamentale ale umanitii. 3. doctrin medical mai veche care atribuia bolile unor aa-numite esene, proprii fiecreia dintre ele. (< fr. Essentialisme) [disponibil la: http://www.dexonline.news20.ro/cuvant/esentialism.html, n data de 26/10/2011]. What is Essentialism? A belief that things have a set of characteristics which make them what they are, and that the task of science and philosophy is their discovery and expression; the doctrine that essence is prior to existence A theory that says that the ability to reason is the distinguishing feature of human beings (tripartite theory of the soul) We access perfect ideals through reason and the soul The soul is the most akin to what is divine, existed before we were born and will exist after we die The soul is made up of three parts: 1. Reason 2. Emotions 3.Appetite Reason is the most important element because it allows humans to use their knowledge over the other elements Example of why reason is important: "Suppose that you are very thirsty and a cold glass of water has been placed in front of you. If you suspect that the water is contaminated with poison, you will probably not drink it. You are using your reason over appetite Plato was probably the first western thinker to develop a view of human nature He believed that the ability to reason is the highest and most important feature a human being has compared to everything else in the world 1

 Another view of Plato was that he believed the universe was perfect. Imperfections are visible in our "reality" today Plato stated that "all forms that exist in the physical world (perceived reality) are duplicates of perfect forms in the invisible reality that we aren't able to see Plato stated that there were two different realities: Essential Universe and Perceived Universe Essential universe is the reality that is perfect and we aren't able to see it because it's invisible to us Perceived universe is the world we live in with the imperfections that are visible According the Plato "things were said to come into being in this world by the action of a demiurge who works to form chaos into ordered entities" Plato called these duplicates of the perfect material "forms" or "ideas" The perfect world is eternal and unchanging unlike the perceived world An example of a duplicate/perfect form is: the ideal form of circle is a perfect circle, something that is physically impossible to make manifest, yet the circles that we draw and observe clearly have some idea in common- this idea is the ideal form Other from matter, forms is considered the most pure of all things and true knowledge or intelligence is the ability to grasp the world of forms with one's mind

According to Plato reason is the feature that distinguishes human beings from other materials. For example, women are constantly looked upon their appearance but there is a greater essence that makes them truly unique. Conclusively men and women are seen as equal people in their ability to reason and in a society.

As human beings we are naturally led to believe in bias information and false truth. We as humans don't accept change in our society which makes people become ignorant. We also have misunderstandings in our life which causes people to believe within it. For example in the comic, both people have a different understanding of what a kiwi is. [disponibil la:http://www.hipero.com/dominikanthonyessentialism/index.php? p=1_3_What-is-Essentialism, n data de 26/10/2011]. Esentialismul odat reintrat in scena conceptul de identitate a nceput sa strneasc discuii si polemici aprinse, fiind extrem de prezent in dezbaterea tiinific. n mod clasic cercettorii identitii admit existena a dou orientri teoretice polare: esenialism i constructivism, una avnd rdcini n general identificate n concepia lui E. Durkheimiar cealalt n cea a lui M.Weber. [disponibil la: http://webspace.ulbsibiu.ro/horatiu.rusu/Romana/Publicatii/Rapoarte/Raport%20CNCSIS %20Identitate%20etnoculturala.pdf - Revista de Politica Stiintei si Scientometrie Numar Special 2005 - ISSN- 1582-1218 1/36, n data de 26/10/2011].

Bibliografie: Site-ul: http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/04/still_just_a_lizard.php, accesat n data de 26/10/2010. Site-ul: http://www.dexonline.news20.ro/cuvant/esentialism.html, accesat n data de 26/10/2011 Site-ul: http://www.hipero.com/dominikanthonyessentialism/index.php? p=1_3_What-is-Essentialism, accesat n data de 26/10/2011 Site-ul: http://webspace.ulbsibiu.ro/horatiu.rusu/Romana/Publicatii/Rapoarte/Raport%20CNCSIS %20Identitate%20etnoculturala.pdf - Revista de Politica Stiintei si Scientometrie Numar Special 2005 - ISSN- 1582-1218 1/36, accesat n data de 26/10/2011