conceptualism
any of several doctrines existing as a compromise between realism and nominalism and regarding universals as concepts.: Compare nominalism, realism (def. 5).
Origin of conceptualism
1Other words from conceptualism
- con·cep·tu·al·ist, noun
- con·cep·tu·al·is·tic, adjective
- con·cep·tu·al·is·ti·cal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for conceptualism
/ (kənˈsɛptjʊəˌlɪzəm) /
the philosophical theory that the application of general words to a variety of objects reflects the existence of some mental entity through which the application is mediated and which constitutes the meaning of the term: Compare nominalism, realism, Platonism
the philosophical view that there is no reality independent of our conception of it, or (as in the philosophy of Kant) that the intellect is not a merely passive recipient of experience but rather imposes a structure on it
Derived forms of conceptualism
- conceptualist, noun
- conceptualistic, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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