formalism

American  

[fawr-muh-liz-uhm] / ˈfɔr məˌlɪz əm /

noun

1. strict adherence to, or observance of, prescribed or traditional forms, as in music, poetry, and art.

2. Religion. strong attachment to external forms and observances.

3. Ethics. a doctrine that acts are in themselves right or wrong regardless of consequences.

4. Logic, Mathematics. a doctrine, which evolved from a proposal of David Hilbert, that mathematics, including the logic used in proofs, can be based on the formal manipulation of symbols without regard to their meaning.

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formalism British  

/ ˈfɔːməˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. scrupulous or excessive adherence to outward form at the expense of inner reality or content

2. 1. the mathematical or logical structure of a scientific argument as distinguished from its subject matter

   2. the notation, and its structure, in which information is expressed

3. theatre a stylized mode of production

4. (in Marxist criticism) excessive concern with artistic technique at the expense of social values, etc

5. the philosophical theory that a mathematical statement has no meaning but that its symbols, regarded as physical objects, exhibit a structure that has useful applications Compare logicism intuitionism

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Other Word Forms

• antiformalist noun
• formalist noun
• formalistic adjective
• formalistically adverb
• nonformalism noun
• nonformalistic adjective
• unformalistic adjective

Etymology

Origin of formalism

First recorded in 1830–40; formal ¹ + -ism

Related Words

• decorum