Platonism

[ pleyt-n-iz-uhm ]

noun
  1. the philosophy or doctrines of Plato or his followers.

  2. a Platonic doctrine or saying.

  1. the belief that physical objects are impermanent representations of unchanging Ideas, and that the Ideas alone give true knowledge as they are known by the mind.

  2. (sometimes lowercase) the doctrine or practice of platonic love.

Origin of Platonism

1
From the New Latin word Platōnismus, dating back to 1560–70. See Platonic, -ism

Other words from Platonism

  • Pla·to·nist, noun, adjective
  • an·ti-Pla·to·nism, noun
  • an·ti-Pla·to·nist, noun, adjective
  • pro-Pla·to·nism, noun
  • pro-Pla·to·nist, noun, adjective

Words Nearby Platonism

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How to use Platonism in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for Platonism

Platonism

/ (ˈpleɪtəˌnɪzəm) /


noun
  1. the teachings of Plato and his followers, esp the philosophical theory that the meanings of general words are real existing abstract entities (Forms) and that particular objects have properties in common by virtue of their relationship with these Forms: Compare nominalism, conceptualism, intuitionism

  2. the realist doctrine that mathematical entities have real existence and that mathematical truth is independent of human thought

Derived forms of Platonism

  • Platonist, noun

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

Cultural definitions for Platonism

Platonism

[ (playt-n-iz-uhm) ]


The philosophy of Plato, or an approach to philosophy resembling his. For example, someone who asserts that numbers exist independently of the things they number could be called a Platonist.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.