formalism
pronunciation
How to pronounce formalism in British English:
UK [ˈfɔ:məlɪzəm]
How to pronounce formalism in American English:
US [ˈfɔrməlɪzəm]
-
- Noun:
- the doctrine that formal structure rather than content is what should be represented
- (philosophy) the philosophical theory that formal (logical or mathematical) statements have no meaning but that its symbols (regarded as physical entities) exhibit a form that has useful applications
- the practice of scrupulous adherence to prescribed or external forms
Word Origin
- formalism (n.)
- 1840, "strict adherence to prescribed forms," from formal + -ism. Used over the years in philosophy, theology, literature, and art in various senses suggesting detachment of form from content, or spirituality, or meaning; or belief in the sufficiency of formal logic. Related: Formalist.
Example
- 1. The danger of formalism is real .
- 2. Anything short of answering this question will amount to formalism and lip service .
- 3. He is a devoted fan of western music and hates the formalism of mishima .
- 4. Hence the practical reason never shakes off the formalism which is represented as the climax of the theoretical reason .
- 5. The legal and philosophical formalism in which leibniz had been trained allowed him to create his own symbolic system , including not just the integral sign but the same notation of differentials we still use .