Etymology/Term: The term “particularism” derives from the Latin “particularis”, which means “of or relating to a part.” It signifies a specific or individual instance rather than a general or universal concept. Within philosophical and theoretical discussions, its emergence dates back to the early 1700s.
Meanings and Concept
Focus on the Specific: Particularism stands in contrast to universalism. It emphasizes the unique, contextual, and particular characteristics of individuals, events, or phenomena.
Rejection of Over-generalization: Particularism views sweeping generalizations as potentially misleading, arguing that context and unique attributes require deeper examination for genuine understanding.
Cultural Relativism: In anthropology and related fields, particularism can promote understanding of cultures on their own terms, resisting imposing dominant values or ethnocentric notions of normalcy.
Political Context: Political particularism often emphasizes the value of regional autonomy, advocating for the right of distinct political or cultural groups to maintain their practices and traditions over and above a universalized model.
Particularism: Definition of a Theoretical Term
Particularism is a philosophical viewpoint that emphasizes the importance of individual cases, circumstances, and contexts. It challenges the belief in universal principles or overarching systems that can be applied to every situation. Instead, particularism emphasizes that knowledge and understanding must be rooted in the careful examination of specifics to derive any meaningful conclusions.
Particularism: Theorists, Works and Arguments
Theorists & Works
Aristotle:
Works like Nicomachean Ethics and Politics focus on practical wisdom and contextualized judgment. He emphasizes the importance of considering individual cases, arguing that ethics and good governance must be adaptable to particular circumstances rather than rigid adherence to universal rules.
G.E.M. Anscombe:
In her work Modern Moral Philosophy, Anscombe critiques the abstract, rule-based focus of deontological and consequentialist ethics . She advocates for a return to virtue ethics rooted in concrete circumstances and practical reasoning, with actions judged in the context of a person’s overall character.
Alasdair MacIntyre:
Works like After Virtue challenge universalist moral theories. He argues that morality is embedded in communities and their specific traditions, advocating that virtues must be understood within particular historical narratives and not as abstract absolutes.
Clifford Geertz:
His influential anthropological work on “thick description” champions a particularist approach. He argues for deeply contextualized analyses to understand cultures from within, focusing on the meaningful details of customs, symbols, and behaviors specific to a society.
Arguments at the Core of Particularism
Limitations of Universal Rules: Universal principles often fail to capture the subtleties of individual cases. Rules cannot encompass all contingencies and can, when applied inflexibly, result in unjust or impractical outcomes.
Importance of Context: Meaning is heavily dependent on context. Actions, events, or beliefs cannot be fully understood without reference to the specific historical, cultural, or social circumstances in which they occur.
Emphasis on Judgment: True understanding necessitates exercising careful judgment in individual situations. Particularists highlight practical reasoning and contextualized decision-making over blind rule-following.
Value in Tradition: Many particularist thinkers consider communities, their traditions, and lived experiences as repositories of meaningful values that shape judgments and provide a frame of reference.
Particularism: Major Characteristics
Characteristic
Description
Emphasis on the Specific
Prioritizes unique details, individual cases, and context over generalized concepts or abstract principles.
Resistance to Universalism
Challenges the idea of universally applicable rules, laws, or ethical systems. Stresses that knowledge and morality must be flexible and contingent.
Contextual Understanding
Stresses that meaning is inextricable from context (historical, cultural, social). Understanding phenomena requires specific analysis and attention to surrounding circumstances.
Practical Wisdom & Judgment
Values situated decision-making based on the careful weighing of options in each unique situation rather than simply adhering to set rules.
Focus on the Local
Particularly in social and political fields, emphasizes the importance of local needs, traditions, and community autonomy over universalized standards.
Keep in Mind:
Nuances Exist: Not all particularist thinkers share all these characteristics equally. Variation exists depending on the specific field of application (ethics, sociology, anthropology, etc.)
Opposes Extreme Relativism: While avoiding strict universalist standards, particularism isn’t a free-for-all. Contextualization and judgment allow it to offer reasoned ethical arguments grounded in particular scenarios.
Particularism: Relevance in Literary Theories
New Historicism: Particularism aligns with New Historicism’s emphasis on situating works of literature within their specific historical and cultural contexts. It rejects abstract readings in favor of understanding how texts both reflect and shape the particular circumstances of their production.
Postcolonial Studies: Particularist principles resonate with postcolonial critiques of Eurocentric or universalized interpretations of literary texts. It emphasizes understanding works on their own terms, through the lens of their specific social, political, and cultural backgrounds rather than imposing dominant worldviews.
Reader-Response Theory: The focus on individual cases in particularism can be applied to reader-response theories that consider how different readers bring their unique experiences, backgrounds, and contexts to the interpretive process.
Cultural Studies: Particularism allows for nuanced readings of literary texts alongside other cultural products (films, music, etc.). This helps illuminate how particular moments in history, specific socio-economic conditions, or community concerns are reflected in and constructed by popular culture.
Ethical Criticism: Particularly when influenced by virtue ethics, particularist literary readings can focus on individual character motivations within specific narrative circumstances. This moves away from general moral rules and towards ethical interpretations based on careful assessment and case-by-case judgments
Particularism: Application in Critiques
Literary Work
Potential Particularist Critique
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Focus on Hamlet’s personal motivations within his specific courtly and societal context. Critique analyses his struggle in light of Danish court politics, social expectations of revenge, and Renaissance-era understandings of melancholy.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Examines social mores and constraints on women’s agency within a highly specific depiction of early 19th-century English society. A particularist approach prioritizes understanding social interactions and marriage anxieties of characters as products of their historical milieu.
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Explores Celie’s journey of self-discovery within the deeply particular experiences of rural life for a Black woman in the early 20th-century American South. Analysis foregrounds issues of race, gender, and trauma experienced within specific historical and social conditions.
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Considers the psychological and narrative implications of Sethe’s experiences under slavery and its aftermath. Analysis would place specific weight on how the legacy of historical trauma is depicted in individualized, particular ways that resist generalization.
Particularism: Relevant Terms
Similar Term
Connection to Particularism
Anti-Essentialism
Both reject notions of a fixed, unchanging ‘essence’ to people, cultures, or concepts. Instead, emphasis is placed on specific traits and their context.
Casuistry
An ethical approach focused on case-by-case decision-making. Aligns with particularism’s emphasis on flexible judgement within specific circumstances.
Contextualism
Philosophical standpoint prioritizing the context in which something exists to derive its meaning. This resonates heavily with particularist thought.
Historicism
Stresses the crucial role of historical context in understanding phenomena. Shares with particularism an emphasis on situated specificity rather than generalization.
Idiographic Approach
In social sciences, this focuses on detailed analysis of individual cases rather than seeking overarching trends. Mirrors particularism’s prioritization of the specific.
Interpretivism
Theoretical approach underlining the subjectivity and constructed nature of meanings. Shares with particularism the belief that individuals or cultures form unique understandings of the world.
Philosophical investigation of subjective experiences as a means of understanding phenomena. Focuses on specific lived experiences over abstraction, mirroring particularism.
Pragmatism
Philosophy arguing for practical results and experiential validity to judge actions and concepts. Aligns with particularism’s context-bound assessments.
Qualitative Research
Methodological approach relying on in-depth investigations of individuals, communities, or phenomena through non-numerical data. Similar to particularism’s emphasis on careful study of specifics.
Situated Knowledge
Emphasizes that knowledge is inseparable from the particular positionality (historical, social, etc.) of those creating it. This challenges notions of ‘objectivity’ and aligns with particularist arguments.
Geertz, Clifford. “Thick Description: Toward an Interpretive Theory of Culture.” In The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays, edited by Clifford Geertz, 3-30. New York: Basic Books, 1973.
Hannerz, Ulf. Soulside: Inquiries into Ghetto Culture and Community. New York: Columbia University Press, 1969.
Herzfeld, Michael. Cultural Intimacy: Social Poetics in the Nation-State. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2005.
Middleton, John. Custom and Conflict in Africa. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 1965.
Nagel, Joane. Constructing Ethnicity: Creating and Recreating Ethnic Identity and Culture. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, 2016.
Shweder, Richard A., and Robert A. LeVine, eds. Culture Theory: Essays on Mind, Self, and Emotion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984.
Turner, Victor. The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure. Piscataway, NJ: AldineTransaction, 1969.
Wilson, William A. “Ethnographic Fiction and Folklore: The Play of Creativity.” In On Ethnography: Approaches to Language and Literacy Research, edited by Shirley Brice Heath, 145-169. New York: Teachers College Press, 2008.
