Often synonymous to anti-foundationalism, non-essentialism in philosophy is the non-belief in an essence (from Latin esse) of any given thing, idea, or metaphysical entity (e.g. God). Non-essentialism might also be defined cataphatically as the belief that for any entity, there are no specific traits or ground of being which entities of that kind must possess in order to be considered "that entity."

Often synonymous to anti-foundationalism, non-essentialism in philosophy is the non-belief in an essence (from Latin esse) of any given thing, idea, or metaphysical entity (e.g. God). Non-essentialism might also be defined cataphatically as the belief that for any entity, there are no specific traits or ground of being which entities of that kind must possess in order to be considered "that entity."