1. antiessentialist - Noun
2. antiessentialist - Adjective
antiessentialist (comparative more antiessentialist, superlative most antiessentialist)
(philosophy) Opposing essentialism.
antiessentialist (plural antiessentialists)
(philosophy) One who opposes essentialism.
Antiessentialist thinking forces us to view the world differently. We must accept shadings and continua as fundamental. We lose criteria for judgment by comparison to some ideal: short people, retarded people, people of other beliefs, colors, and religions are people of full status. Stephen Jay Gould
The political program of nation building in countries like Afghanistan and Iraq is one central example of the productive project of biopower and war. Nothing could be more postmodernist and antiessentialist than this notion of nation building. Antonio Negri