Formalism (philosophy)

Formalism (philosophy)

The term "formalism" describes an emphasis on form over content or meaning in the arts, literature, or philosophy. A practitioner of formalism is called a "formalist".

Religion

Formalism in religion means an emphasis on ritual and observance, over their meanings.

Law

Formalism is a school of thought in law and jurisprudence which assumes that the law is a system of rules that can determine the outcome of any case, without reference to external norms. For example, formalism animates the commonly heard criticism that "judges should apply the law, not make it." To formalism's rival, legal realism, this criticism is incoherent, because legal realism assumes that, at least in difficult cases, all applications of the law will require that a judge refer to external (i.e. non-legal) sources, such as the judge's conception of justice, or commercial norms.

Criticism

In general in the study of the arts and literature, formalism refers to the style of criticism that focuses on artistic or literary techniques in themselves, in separation from the work's social and historical context.

Art criticism

Aesthetically speaking, formalism is the concept that everything necessary in a work of art is contained within it. The context for the work, including the reason for its creation, the historical background, and the life of the artist, is not considered to be significant. Examples of formalist aestheticians are Clive Bell, Jerome Stolnitz, and Edward Bullough.

Literary criticism

In contemporary discussions of literary theory, the school of criticism of I. A. Richards and his followers, traditionally the New Criticism, has sometimes been labelled 'formalist'. The formalist approach, in this sense, is a continuation of aspects of classical rhetoric.

Russian formalism was a twentieth century school, based in Eastern Europe, with roots in linguistic studies and also theorising on fairy tales, in which content is taken as secondary since the tale 'is' the form, the princess 'is' the fairy-tale princess.

The Arts

Poetry

In modern poetry, "Formalist poets" may be considered as the opposite of writers of free verse. These are only labels, and rarely sum up matters satisfactorily. 'Formalism' in poetry represents an attachment to poetry that recognises and uses schemes of rhyme and rhythm to create poetic effects and to innovate. To distinguish it from archaic poetry the term 'neo-formalist' is sometimes used.

See for example:
*"The Formalist", a literary magazine (now defunct) for formalist poetry
*New Formalism, a movement within the poetry of the United States.

Film

In film studies, formalism is a trait in filmmaking, which overtly uses the language of film, such as editing, shot composition, camera movement, set design, etc., so as to emphasise graphical (as opposed to diegetic) qualities of the image. Strict formalism, condemned by realist film theorists such as Andre Bazin, has declined substantially in popular usage since the 1950s, though some more postmodern filmmakers reference it to suggest the artificiality of the film experience.

Examples of formalist films may include Eisenstein's "The Battleship Potemkin", Parajanov's "The Color of Pomegranates", Resnais's "Last Year at Marienbad" and Hitchcock's "Blackmail".

Intellectual method

Formalism can be applied to a set of notations and rules for manipulating them which yield results in agreement with experiment or other techniques of calculation. These rules and notations may or may not have a corresponding mathematical semantics. In the case no mathematical semantics exists, the calculations are often said to be "purely formal". See for example scientific formalism.

Mathematics

In the foundations of mathematics, formalism is associated with a certain rigorous mathematical method: see formal system. In common usage, "a" formalism means the out-turn of the effort towards formalisation of a given limited area. In other words, matters can be formally discussed once captured in a formal system, or commonly enough within something "formalisable" with claims to be one. Complete formalisation is in the domain of computer science.

Formalism also more precisely refers to a certain school in the philosophy of mathematics, stressing axiomatic proofs through theorems, specifically associated with David Hilbert. In the philosophy of mathematics, therefore, a formalist is a person who belongs to the school of formalism, which is a certain mathematical-philosophical doctrine descending from Hilbert.

Anthropology

In economic anthropology, formalism is the theoretical perspective that the principles of neoclassical economics can be applied to our understanding of all human societies.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Formalism — formalism, logical …   Philosophy dictionary

  • formalism — formalism, logical …   Philosophy dictionary

  • Formalism — or formalization is the activity or its product which rigorously follows a set/system of rules previously defined and usually known.It can refer to a set of beliefs in philosophy, art, literature, or music. * Formalism (art) * Formalism (film) *… …   Wikipedia

  • formalism, logical — 1 Another term for a logical calculus. 2 In the philosophy of mathematics, a formalist holds that mathematical statements are to be thought of as uninterpreted strings of symbols. Mathematics has a syntax but no semantics. The formalism is useful …   Philosophy dictionary

  • formalism, legal — See law, philosophy of …   Philosophy dictionary

  • Philosophy — • Detailed article on the history of the love of wisdom Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Philosophy     Philosophy     † …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Philosophy of mathematics — The philosophy of mathematics is the branch of philosophy that studies the philosophical assumptions, foundations, and implications of mathematics. The aim of the philosophy of mathematics is to provide an account of the nature and methodology of …   Wikipedia

  • Philosophy in the Soviet Union — Philosophical research in the Soviet Union was officially confined to Marxist Leninist thinking, which theoretically was the basis of objective and ultimate philosophical truth. During the 1920s and 1930s, other tendencies of Russian thought were …   Wikipedia

  • PHILOSOPHY, JEWISH — This article is arranged according to the following outline: WHAT IS JEWISH PHILOSOPHY? recent histories of jewish philosophy biblical and rabbinic antecedents bible rabbinic literature hellenistic jewish philosophy philo of alexandria biblical… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Formalism — means a number of different things: A certain school in the philosophy of mathematics, stressing axiomatic proofs through theorems specifically associated with David Hilbert. A school of thought in law and jurisprudence which emphasises the… …   Mini philosophy glossary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”