speculative philosophy

American  

noun

1. philosophy embodying beliefs insusceptible of proof and attempting to gain insight into the nature of the ultimate by intuitive or a priori means.

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Etymology

Origin of speculative philosophy

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

The Abbasid rulers also faced religious divisions and criticism, even as the cosmopolitan nature of the caliphate sparked the growth of speculative philosophy and rationalizing thought.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

If “Clarissa” is an epistolary novel, then so, really, is “The Post Card” — and then half of “Tristram Shandy” is speculative philosophy.

From New York Times • Jan. 20, 2022

Should the analyses of Taine and Lewes prove successful at last, and be accepted by the authorities in speculative philosophy, idealism, as a philosophy, must disappear.

From Transcendentalism in New England A History by Frothingham, Octavius Brooks

We are told that a certain sect amongst them “believed in a great cycle of time in which certain epochs of the world's history recurred”—an idea akin to ancient Mexican speculative philosophy.

From The Fundamental Principles of Old and New World Civilizations by Nuttall, Zelia

Such a heterogeneous mixture demonstrates the pass to which speculative philosophy had come, and shows us clearly that her disciples had abandoned her in despair.

From History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, Volume I (of 2) Revised Edition by Draper, John William