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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.


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

"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

Other Word Forms


Etymology

Origin of conceptualism

First recorded in 1830–40; conceptual + -ism


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

I grew up in the era of conceptualism and earthworks and all those artists.

From New York Times ● Oct. 27, 2021

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

In 2009, her works was featured in the inaugural triennial at the New Museum, “The Generational: Younger Than Jesus” — where her small, yet powerfully ribald paintings stood out amid a surplus of chilly conceptualism.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2019

He moved to Northern California in 1964 and soon rocketed to art-world fame with work that helped define post-minimalism and conceptualism, the fundamental modes of experimental art to this day.

From The New Yorker ● Oct. 29, 2018

Neither realism is the truth, nor nominalism is the truth, but conceptualism; and conceptualism or any other psychological theory falls very far short of the infinite subtlety of language and thought.

From Parmenides by Benjamin Jowett

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