essence

n. in philosophy, the presumed ontological reality at the core of something that makes it what it is and not something else. There have been various philosophical attempts to define the difference between what something necessarily is and what it merely coincidentally is (see accidental property; essential property). In psychology, the concept of essence is relevant to discussions of personhood, including questions of human agency and of the self. It is thus important for personality theories. The view that human beings have certain important essential characteristics is known as essentialism. —essential adj.

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Psychology term of the day

November 16th 2024

trajectories of dying

the rate of movement and the length of the passage from a life-threatening condition to death. In 1968, U.S. sociologists Barney G. Glaser (1930– ) and Anselm L. Strauss (1916–1996) developed a classification of dying trajectories, two of which have received particular attention from clinicians and researchers. The first, the lingering trajectory, is often characteristic of long-term, terminally ill patients who seldom receive aggressive, all-out treatment. By contrast, the second is the quick trajectory associated with an emergency situation, in which any possible intervention to save a person’s life might be attempted.