nominalism
noun
(in medieval philosophy) the doctrine that general or abstract words do not stand for objectively existing entities and that universals are no more than names assigned to them.
nominalistic
-
a word derived from
nominalism.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This Aesthetic differs from the preceding, in the belief that aesthetic or artistic facts are not a merely empirical or nominalistic grouping together, but that all of them possess a common foundation.
From Aesthetic as Science of Expression and General Linguistic by Benedetto Croce
It is not strange, then, that the ardent realism of William of Champeaux should have been outraged by the nominalistic logic of Abélard.
From Historia Calamitatum by Peter Abelard
This “conciliar theory,” propounded by Conrad of Gelnhausen and championed by the great Parisian teachers Pierre d’Ailly and Gerson, proceeded from the nominalistic axiom that the whole is greater than its part.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 6 "Coucy-le-Château" to "Crocodile" by Various
I call this the nominalistic as opposed to the realistic method of Comparative Mythology, and it is the former only that concerns the student of the Science of Language.
From Chips From A German Workshop, Vol. V. Miscellaneous Later Essays by F. Max (Friedrich Max) Müller
In the later Middle Ages, this latent individualism found conscious formulation in the nominalistic philosophies, which treated the structure of knowledge as something built up within the individual through his own acts, and mental states.
From Democracy and Education: an introduction to the philosophy of education by John Dewey
