subjectivism

American  

[suhb-jek-tuh-viz-uhm] / səbˈdʒɛk təˌvɪz əm /

noun

1. Epistemology. the doctrine that all knowledge is limited to experiences by the self, and that transcendent knowledge is impossible.

2. Ethics.

   1. any of various theories maintaining that moral judgments are statements concerning the emotional or mental reactions of the individual or the community.

   2. any of several theories holding that certain states of thought or feeling are the highest good.

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subjectivism British  

/ səbˈdʒɛktɪˌvɪzəm /

noun

1. the meta-ethical doctrine that there are no absolute moral values but that these are variable in the same way as taste is

2. any similar philosophical theory, for example, about truth or perception

3. any theological theory that attaches primary importance to religious experience

4. the quality or condition of being subjective

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Other Word Forms

• subjectivist noun
• subjectivistic adjective
• subjectivistically adverb

Etymology

Origin of subjectivism

First recorded in 1855–60; subjective + -ism

Example Sentences

Popper blamed Bohr, whom he knew “very well,” for having introduced subjectivism into physics.

From Scientific American • Aug. 25, 2018

If this linguistic shift from judgment to opinion isn’t creeping subjectivism, it’s certainly creeping tolerance.

From Slate • Sep. 19, 2013

It was this distinction that enabled science to develop by clearing away the subjectivism of sensual imprecision.

From The Guardian • Mar. 16, 2011

But for liberal Protestants, Gilkey notes, Lonergan could provide something of a brake to excessive subjectivism.

From Time Magazine Archive

It is a kind of selfish subjectivism devoid of any real moral character.

From Religion and the War by Various