Platonism
['pleitənizəm]
Definition
(noun.) (philosophy) the philosophical doctrine that abstract concepts exist independent of their names.
Editor: Meredith--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) The doctrines or philosophy by Plato or of his followers.
(n.) An elevated rational and ethical conception of the laws and forces of the universe; sometimes, imaginative or fantastic philosophical notions.
Checked by Brits
Examples
- Platonism is a very refined and beautiful expression of our natural instincts, it embodies conscience and utters our inmost hopes. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- Some neo-Platonic writers were known, but neo-Platonism had much the same relation to Plato that Christian Science has to Christ. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
Editor: Milton