Category Archives: essentialism

Essentialism

Anti-essentialism is a Popperian idea that many people are either unaware of or do not understand.  Many people are essentialists, particularly people who think they understand philosophy, but essentialism is a bad mistake. There are two separate ideas that Popper … Continue reading

Posted in epistemology, essentialism, science | 4 Comments

Essentialism vs freedom

Michael Sandel gives an interesting TED Talk on democracy, saying that we should talk more about the deep moral convictions people have to raise the level of debate in democracy. This may be a good idea, but unfortunately his argument … Continue reading

Posted in essentialism, ethics, open society | 1 Comment

Review: Beyond Wittgenstein’s Poker by Peter Munz

I think it can safely be said that Popper and Wittgenstein didn’t like each other much and that their dedicated followers have not shown much interest in overcoming this dislike. Peter Munz makes an attempt to heal this breach in … Continue reading

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Notes on essentialism

[I compiled these notes February of 2003. There are several things I would revise now, and some specific points where I feel I am in error. However, there are a lot of nice quotes here and plenty food for thought, … Continue reading

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