conceptualism

American  

[kuhn-sep-choo-uh-liz-uhm] / kənˈsɛp tʃu əˌlɪz əm /

noun

Philosophy.

1. any of several doctrines existing as a compromise between realism and nominalism and regarding universals as concepts.

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conceptualism British  

/ kənˈsɛptjʊəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. 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

2. 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

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Other Word Forms

• conceptualist
  noun
• conceptualistic
  adjective
• conceptualistically
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of conceptualism

First recorded in 1830–40; conceptual + -ism

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

conceptualism

She felt removed, too, from tendencies toward conceptualism in Black American art at the time.

From New York Times ● Apr. 14, 2022

Like Tate before it, MoMA will no longer bandy around terms such as cubism, post-impressionism, abstract expressionism, or conceptualism in its labels.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 16, 2019

Blake’s own work was inspired by important Bay Area conceptualists such as David Ireland and William T. Wiley, whose “hippie funkiness” bore none of the austerity of East Coast minimalism and conceptualism.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2019

It was moving, and also undaunted — a dash of capitalist conceptualism hiding in plain sight.

From New York Times ● Aug. 22, 2019

Saint Augustine was a Gongorine and a conceptualist at the same time, which makes me think that Gongorism and conceptualism are the most natural forms of passion and vehemence.

From Rosinante to the Road Again by John Dos Passos

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