intuitionism

in·tu·i·tion·ism

I0210200 (ĭn′to͞o-ĭsh′ə-nĭz′əm, -tyo͞o-)n. Philosophy 1. The theory that certain truths or ethical principles are known by intuition rather than reason.2. The theory that external objects of perception are immediately known to be real by intuition.3. The view that the subject matter of mathematics consists of the mental or symbolic constructions of mathematicians rather than independent and timeless abstractions, as is held in Platonism.

in′tu·i′tion·ist n.

intuitionism

(ˌɪntjʊˈɪʃəˌnɪzəm) or

intuitionalism

n1. (Philosophy) (in ethics)a. the doctrine that there are moral truths discoverable by intuitionb. the doctrine that there is no single principle by which to resolve conflicts between intuited moral rules. See also deontological2. (Philosophy) philosophy the theory that general terms are used of a variety of objects in accordance with perceived similarities. Compare nominalism, Platonism3. (Logic) logic the doctrine that logical axioms rest on prior intuitions concerning time, negation, and provability4. (Logic) a. 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 assertedb. the reconstruction of mathematics or logic in accordance with this view. Compare formalism, logicism, finitism5. (Philosophy) the doctrine that knowledge, esp of the external world, is acquired by intuition ˌintuˈitionist, ˌintuˈitionalist n

in•tu•i•tion•ism

(ˌɪn tuˈɪʃ əˌnɪz əm, -tyu-)

n. 1. the doctrine in ethics that moral values and duties can be discerned directly. 2. (in metaphysics) a. the doctrine that in perception external objects are given immediately, without the intervention of a representative idea. b. the doctrine that knowledge rests upon axiomatic truths discerned directly. [1840–50]

Thesaurus

Noun

intuitionism - (philosophy) the doctrine that knowledge is acquired primarily by intuitionphilosophy - the rational investigation of questions about existence and knowledge and ethicsphilosophical doctrine, philosophical theory - a doctrine accepted by adherents to a philosophy

intuitionism

intuitionistic logic

Intuitionism

the idealist movement in philosophy that considers intuition to be the sole reliable means of cognition. Although the intuitionist tendency is characteristic of many philosophers and philosophical trends of the past, intuitionism as a definite movement arose at the turn of the century. It is, in particular, a type of reaction to the spread of a rationalistic way of thought, which is based on the mechanistic and positivistic conception of scientific knowledge and on the limitation of experience exclusively to the sphere of sense perception. As a variety of irrationalism, intuitionism is opposed to the philosophy of dialectical materialism. Two forms of intuitionism can be distinguished. For the first, anti-intellectual form, the opposition of intuition and intellect is characteristic, as in H. Bergson (France) and the philosophy of life as a whole. The second form tries to unite intuition and intellect, as in the Russian philosophers N. O. Losskii, S. L. Frank, and E. N. Trubetskoi; the French neo-Thomists E. Gilson and J. Maritain; and, in part, E. Husserl and the phenomenological school—M. Scheler, N. Hartmann (Germany), and other philosophers.

Bergson contrasts intuition to discursive, logical thinking or logical knowledge. He interprets intuition as the immediate merging of subject and object, the overcoming of the opposition between them. In the biological versions of the philosophy of life (for example, in the German philosoher L. Klages) intuition verges on instinct, giving direct knowledge of an object without the aid of consciousness.

Representatives of the second tendency of intuitionism strive to go beyond the bounds of immediate sense experience and propose that philosophy base itself on a special kind of experience—mental (particularly “religious”) experience. Dialectical materialism, while criticizing the exaggerated role that intuitionism assigns to intuition in cognition, looks upon intuition as an organic moment in the cognitive process, acting in unison with discursive thinking.

intuitionism

in·tu·i·tion·ism

intuitionism

intuitionalism

in•tu•i•tion•ism

intuitionism

intuitionism

Intuitionism

intuitionism

Words related to intuitionism

noun (philosophy) the doctrine that knowledge is acquired primarily by intuition

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