subjectivism

[ suhb-jek-tuh-viz-uhm ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Epistemology. the doctrine that all knowledge is limited to experiences by the self, and that transcendent knowledge is impossible.
Ethics.
1. any of various theories maintaining that moral judgments are statements concerning the emotional or mental reactions of the individual or the community.
2. any of several theories holding that certain states of thought or feeling are the highest good.

subjectivism

/ səbˈdʒɛktɪˌvɪzəm /

the meta-ethical doctrine that there are no absolute moral values but that these are variable in the same way as taste is
any similar philosophical theory, for example, about truth or perception
any theological theory that attaches primary importance to religious experience
the quality or condition of being subjective

First recorded in 1855–60; subjective + -ism

Subjectivism, based on vital experience, mixes no better with this system than oil with water.

The subjectivism of the Stoics and Epicureans is followed by the scepticism of Pyrrho and his successors.

Lastly, subjectivism ends naturally in scepticism, the denial of all knowledge, the rejection of all philosophy.

We have already seen, in the Sophists, the phenomenon of subjectivism leading to scepticism.

This subjectivism has as its necessary consequences, one-sidedness, absence of originality, and finally complete scepticism.

April 23, 2024inveterate

[in-vet-er-it ]

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