intuitionism

[ in-too-ish-uh-niz-uhm, -tyoo- ]

noun

1. Ethics. the doctrine that moral values and duties can be discerned directly.
2. Metaphysics.
   1. the doctrine that in perception external objects are given immediately, without the intervention of a representative idea.
   2. the doctrine that knowledge rests upon axiomatic truths discerned directly.
3. Logic, Mathematics. the doctrine, propounded by L. E. J. Brouwer, that a mathematical object is considered to exist only if a method for constructing it can be given.

intuitionism

/ ˌɪntjʊˈɪʃəˌnɪzəm /

noun

1. in ethics
   1. the doctrine that there are moral truths discoverable by intuition
   2. the doctrine that there is no single principle by which to resolve conflicts between intuited moral rules See also deontological
2. philosophy the theory that general terms are used of a variety of objects in accordance with perceived similarities Compare nominalism Platonism
3. logic the doctrine that logical axioms rest on prior intuitions concerning time, negation, and provability
4. 1. the theory that mathematics cannot intelligibly comprehend the properties of infinite sets, and that only what can be shown to be provable can be justifiably asserted
   2. the reconstruction of mathematics or logic in accordance with this view Compare formalism logicism finitism
5. the doctrine that knowledge, esp of the external world, is acquired by intuition

Derived Forms

• ˌintuˈitionist, noun

Other Words From

• intu·ition·ist noun adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of intuitionism¹

First recorded in 1840–50; intuition + -ism

Example Sentences

L. E. J. Brouwer, for whom the theorem was named, founded a movement in mathematics called intuitionism.

From Scientific American

Written in 1964, it locates the anger and paranoia that had characterised the Goldwater insurgency—in effect, an extreme case of intuitionism—in a long history of populist resentment and apocalyptic rhetoric.

From Economist

Dewey's criticism of intuitionism scarcely does justice to that method, whatever may be its inherent weakness.

From Project Gutenberg

Schiller, F. C. S.—Humanism, intuitionism, and objective reality.

From Project Gutenberg

He acknowledges his debt to Kant, to the Romanticists, and in particular to Schelling, whose "intuitionism" was naturally congenial to him.

From Project Gutenberg