representationalism
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About Our Definitions: All forms of a word (noun, verb, etc.) are now displayed on one page.rep·re·sen·ta·tion·al·ism
noun \-shnə-ˌli-zəm, -shə-nəl-ˌi-\Definition of REPRESENTATIONALISM
1
: the doctrine that the immediate object of knowledge is an idea in the mind distinct from the external object which is the occasion of perception
2
: the theory or practice of realistic representation in art
— rep·re·sen·ta·tion·al·ist \-list, -ist\ noun
Examples of REPRESENTATIONALISM
- <the artist eventually abandoned the representationalism of his earlier work>
First Known Use of REPRESENTATIONALISM
1842
Related to REPRESENTATIONALISM
- Synonyms
- literalism, naturalism, realism, verisimilitude, verismo
representationalism
noun (Concise Encyclopedia)Theory of knowledge based on the assertion that the mind perceives only mental representations of material objects outside the mind, not the objects themselves. The validity of human knowledge is thus called into question because of the need to show that such images accurately correspond to the external objects. The doctrine, still current in certain philosophical circles, has roots in Cartesianism, the empiricism of John Locke and David Hume, and the idealism of Immanuel Kant.
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