Essentialism in Biology: Contributions to Teaching.
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| Title: | Essentialism in Biology: Contributions to Teaching. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Pérez, Gastón1,2 (AUTHOR) gastonperez@ccpems.exactas.uba.ar |
| Source: | Science & Education. Dec2025, Vol. 34 Issue 6, p4155-4175. 21p. |
| Subject Terms: | *College teaching, *Critical thinking, Essentialism (Philosophy), Biology, Taxonomy, Biological evolution, Worldview, Genetics |
| Abstract: | Essentialism can be characterized as the doctrine that at least some objects in the world have at least some essential properties. In the mid-twentieth century, several philosophers developed a narrative suggesting that Darwinian theory fundamentally challenged essentialism in biology by demonstrating its incompatibility with Darwinian principles. Nowadays, being accused of essentialism is seen as being anti-scientific, anti-Darwinist, racist, among other things. However, at the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century, other philosophers have proposed that essentialism plays a role in actual biology. This view is understood not in a strict sense, but with variations in the assumptions that are considered valid and in the diverse forms of essentialism that can exist. The classifications made from taxonomy, systematics, genetics, or evolutionary biology would fulfill some of the assumptions of essentialism but not others. As a teacher, adopting one narrative over the other regarding the legitimacy of essentialism in biology will significantly influence how a range of content is taught in higher education. In this paper, we will delve deeper into these narratives and propose metacognitive vigilance as a possible approach to address essentialism in the classroom. This would allow, among other things, questioning the meaning of the classifications that biologists elaborate when investigating topics such as genetic ancestry or the genetic structure of the human population. Distinguishing which of the assumptions of essentialism are fulfilled in each case would help our students deepen their understanding of the scientific models underlying these topics, while reflecting on the ways in which this knowledge is constructed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Science & Education is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 189911973 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Essentialism in Biology: Contributions to Teaching. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Pérez%2C+Gastón%22">Pérez, Gastón</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> gastonperez@ccpems.exactas.uba.ar</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Science+%26+Education%22">Science & Education</searchLink>. Dec2025, Vol. 34 Issue 6, p4155-4175. 21p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22College+teaching%22">College teaching</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Critical+thinking%22">Critical thinking</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Essentialism+%28Philosophy%29%22">Essentialism (Philosophy)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Biology%22">Biology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Taxonomy%22">Taxonomy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Biological+evolution%22">Biological evolution</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Worldview%22">Worldview</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Genetics%22">Genetics</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Essentialism can be characterized as the doctrine that at least some objects in the world have at least some essential properties. In the mid-twentieth century, several philosophers developed a narrative suggesting that Darwinian theory fundamentally challenged essentialism in biology by demonstrating its incompatibility with Darwinian principles. Nowadays, being accused of essentialism is seen as being anti-scientific, anti-Darwinist, racist, among other things. However, at the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century, other philosophers have proposed that essentialism plays a role in actual biology. This view is understood not in a strict sense, but with variations in the assumptions that are considered valid and in the diverse forms of essentialism that can exist. The classifications made from taxonomy, systematics, genetics, or evolutionary biology would fulfill some of the assumptions of essentialism but not others. As a teacher, adopting one narrative over the other regarding the legitimacy of essentialism in biology will significantly influence how a range of content is taught in higher education. In this paper, we will delve deeper into these narratives and propose metacognitive vigilance as a possible approach to address essentialism in the classroom. This would allow, among other things, questioning the meaning of the classifications that biologists elaborate when investigating topics such as genetic ancestry or the genetic structure of the human population. Distinguishing which of the assumptions of essentialism are fulfilled in each case would help our students deepen their understanding of the scientific models underlying these topics, while reflecting on the ways in which this knowledge is constructed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Science & Education is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1007/s11191-024-00584-2 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 21 StartPage: 4155 Subjects: – SubjectFull: College teaching Type: general – SubjectFull: Critical thinking Type: general – SubjectFull: Essentialism (Philosophy) Type: general – SubjectFull: Biology Type: general – SubjectFull: Taxonomy Type: general – SubjectFull: Biological evolution Type: general – SubjectFull: Worldview Type: general – SubjectFull: Genetics Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Essentialism in Biology: Contributions to Teaching. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Pérez, Gastón IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 12 Text: Dec2025 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 09267220 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 34 – Type: issue Value: 6 Titles: – TitleFull: Science & Education Type: main |
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