intuitionism
/ˌɪntuˈɪʃəˌnɪzəm/
noun
- A philosophical theory that moral truths are known by intuition, not by reasoning or observation.
- Intuitionism argues that we can directly sense that kindness is good.
- Many people follow intuitionism without realizing it, trusting their gut feelings about right and wrong.
- In ethics class, we debated whether intuitionism or utilitarianism makes more sense.
- A mathematical approach that rejects the idea of mathematical objects existing independently of the mind, and accepts only truths that can be constructed or proven directly.
- The debate between intuitionism and formalism shaped early 20th-century mathematics.
- Intuitionism in mathematics says that a statement is true only if we can prove it by building it step by step.
- Unlike classical mathematicians, followers of intuitionism do not accept the law of excluded middle.