The Essential Child: Origins of Essentialism in Everyday ThoughtEssentialism is the idea that certain categories, such as dog, man, or intelligence, have an underlying reality or true nature that gives objects their identity. Where does this idea come from? In this book, Susan Gelman argues that essentialism is an early cognitive bias. Young children's concepts reflect a deep commitment to essentialism, and this commitment leads children to look beyond the obvious in many converging ways: when learning words,