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

Fire, the most magic and startling of all material things, is a thing known only to man and the expression of his sublime externalism.

From A Miscellany of Men by Chesterton, G. K. (Gilbert Keith)

The method of Christianity is alien to all externalism and machinery; it does not lend itself to those accommodations and compromises without which nothing can be done in politics.

From Outspoken Essays by Inge, William Ralph

But with the rise of mind in nature the bond of externalism is implicitly overcome.

From Hegel's Philosophy of Mind by Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich

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