exemplarism

[ig-zem-pluh-riz-uhm]

noun

Theology.

1. the doctrine that all knowledge is based on the perception of the exemplars of reality that exist in the mind of God.

2. the doctrine that the death of Christ is of service to humanity solely as an exemplar of perfect love and self-surrender.

Word History and Origins

Origin of exemplarism¹

First recorded in 1890–95; exemplar + -ism

Example Sentences

That allows the country to leverage what Professor Michael Mandelbaum of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies calls "democratic exemplarism"—a paradigm emerging from the successful examples of not just the U.S. but the evolving liberal democracies in East and Southeast Asia.

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