See also: a priorism

English edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

From a priori +‎ -ism, after French apriorisme.

Noun edit

apriorism (countable and uncountable, plural apriorisms)

  1. (philosophy) The idea that some knowledge of the physical world can be derived logically from general principles.
    • 1982, Dan I Slobin, in Eric Wanner & Lila Gleitman, Language Acquisition, p. 128:
      The linguistic apriorism of Chomsky has stimulated some psychologists to search for nonlinguistic roots of language development.
    • 2006, Philip Ball, The Devil's Doctor, Arrow, published 2007, page 51:
      What was needed for modern science to take shape was a renunciation of their bookish a priorism, with its Aristotelian notion that all things can be deduced by logical, abstract argument from (ultimately arbitrary) first principles.

Translations edit

Romanian edit

Etymology edit

Borrowed from German Apriorismus or French apriorisme.

Noun edit

apriorism n (uncountable)

  1. apriorism

Declension edit