one of a number of related doctrines which hold that there are necessary properties of things, that these are logically prior to the existence of the individuals which instantiate them, and that their classification depends upon their satisfaction of sets of necessary conditions
2.
the doctrine that education should concentrate on teaching basic skills and encouraging intellectual self-discipline
Derived forms
essentialist (esˈsentialist)
noun
essentialism in American English
(ɛˈsɛnʃəlˌɪzəm; ɪˈsɛnʃəlˌɪzəm)
noun
Philosophy
a theory which stresses indispensable conceptual characteristics and relations of things as opposed to existence as particular experiencedactuality