conceptualist

/kənˈsɛptʃuəlɪst/
noun
  1. A person who supports or follows the theory that universals and abstract concepts exist only in the mind, not in reality.
    • Many medieval thinkers were conceptualists, believing that categories like 'animal' are mental constructs.
    • The philosopher was a well-known conceptualist who argued that ideas like 'beauty' have no physical form.
    • In class, we debated whether a conceptualist or a realist view of numbers makes more sense.
  2. An artist who creates conceptual art, where the idea behind the work is more important than the finished product.
    • Young conceptualists often challenge what people consider to be art.
    • As a conceptualist, she exhibited a written description of a sculpture instead of the sculpture itself.
    • The gallery featured a conceptualist who used only text and diagrams in her installations.
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