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Updated: Aug 22, 2025

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Are we Teleologically Essentialist?

Sehrang Joo1, Sami R Yousif1

  • 1Department of Psychology, Yale University.

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|November 10, 2022
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Psychological essentialism may not solely rely on purpose (telos). While teleology plays a role, internal causes are equally important for understanding the essences of living things.

Keywords:
Psychological essentialismScientific essentialismTeleological essentialismTeleology

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Science
  • Philosophy of Mind
  • Psychology

Background:

  • Psychological essentialism posits that categories are understood via an underlying, unobservable essence.
  • Recent theories propose that this essence is fundamentally tied to an object's telos or purpose.
  • Alternative views suggest that perceived internal causes, not telos, drive essentialist reasoning.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether teleology is the primary driver of psychological essentialism.
  • To examine the relative importance of teleology versus internal causes in essentialist judgments.

Main Methods:

  • Replication of previous findings supporting teleological essentialism.
  • Two experimental studies manipulating teleological and internal change information.
  • Analysis of participants' reasoning about category essences, particularly for living things.

Main Results:

  • Key findings supporting teleological essentialism were successfully replicated.
  • Experimental results indicated that internal changes are as influential as teleological changes.
  • Teleology appears to be one cue among others, not the sole determinant of essentialism.

Conclusions:

  • While teleology contributes to understanding the essences of living things, it may not be the primary factor.
  • Internal causal factors play a significant role, challenging purely teleological accounts of essentialism.
  • Current evidence suggests a more nuanced view of psychological essentialism, incorporating multiple causal cues.