externalism

American  

[ik-stur-nl-iz-uhm] / ɪkˈstɜr nlˌɪz əm /

noun

1. attention to externals, especially excessive attention to externals, as in religion.

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externalism British  

/ ɪkˈstɜːnəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. exaggerated emphasis on outward form, esp in religious worship

2. a philosophical doctrine holding that only objects that can be perceived by the senses are real; phenomenalism

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Other Word Forms

• externalist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of externalism

First recorded in 1855–60; external + -ism

Example Sentences

The second reason may well be that there are different coping mechanisms among minorities that are more externalism than internalizing.

From New York Times • Apr. 23, 2013

We are not dependent on forms as Israel was, but the spiritual religion of Christianity was only made possible by the externalism of the older system.

From Expositions of Holy Scripture by Maclaren, Alexander

This philosophy of externalism and of the impotence of the human mind threw the poet, believer and devotee of the Kabbalah, into a most dangerous mysticism.

From The Renascence of Hebrew Literature (1743-1885) by Slouschz, Nahum

This is the provision that externalism makes for the practical inculcation of truthfulness,—a virtue which its religion and its ethics profess to honour above all others.

From What Is and What Might Be A Study of Education in General and Elementary Education in Particular by Holmes, Edmond

If externalism has to be adopted to hedge royalty, still a further inner change is demanded: there must be a corresponding spiritual growth.

From Cyropaedia: the education of Cyrus by Dakyns, Henry Graham