Essentialism in Biology: Contributions to Teaching

Abstract

Essentialism can be characterized as the doctrine that at least some objects in the worldhave at least some essential properties. In the mid-twentieth century, several philosophersdeveloped a narrative suggesting that Darwinian theory fundamentally challenged essentialismin 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 ofthe twenty-first century, other philosophers have proposed that essentialism plays a rolein actual biology. This view is understood not in a strict sense, but with variations in theassumptions that are considered valid and in the diverse forms of essentialism that canexist. The classifications made from taxonomy, systematics, genetics, or evolutionary biologywould 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 biologywill significantly influence how a range of content is taught in higher education. In thispaper, we will delve deeper into these narratives and propose metacognitive vigilance as apossible approach to address essentialism in the classroom. This would allow, among otherthings, questioning the meaning of the classifications that biologists elaborate when investigatingtopics such as genetic ancestry or the genetic structure of the human population.Distinguishing which of the assumptions of essentialism are fulfilled in each case wouldhelp our students deepen their understanding of the scientific models underlying these topics,while reflecting on the ways in which this knowledge is constructed.