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

She saw exciting developments in abstraction, conceptualism, and performance emerging on both East and West Coasts.

From New York Times • Sep. 13, 2022

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

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

The view of Socrates is the meeting-point of the other two, just as conceptualism is the meeting-point of nominalism and realism.

From Cratylus by Jowett, Benjamin