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

Etymology

Origin of conceptualism

First recorded in 1830–40; conceptual + -ism

Example Sentences

I would trade the conceptualism for something more embracingly human.

From New York Times • Jun. 4, 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

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

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

The only way in which we can really escape from the rigid conceptualism of rational logic is to accept the judgment of the totality of man's nature.

From The Complex Vision by Powys, John Cowper