Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A political theory holding that all power should be vested in one ruler or other authority.
- noun A form of government in which all power is vested in a single ruler or other authority.
- noun An absolute doctrine, principle, or standard.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The state of being absolute.
- noun The principle of absolute individual power in government; belief in the unrestricted right of determination or disposal in a sovereign.
- noun The theological doctrine of predestination or absolute decrees.
- noun The metaphysical doctrines of the absolutists.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The state of being absolute; the system or doctrine of the absolute; the principles or practice of absolute or arbitrary government; despotism.
- noun (Theol.) Doctrine of absolute decrees.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun
Positiveness ; the state of being absolute.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the doctrine of an absolute being
- noun a form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.)
- noun dominance through threat of punishment and violence
- noun the principle of complete and unrestricted power in government
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Similarly if it was vice-versa (though you might well be on firmer ground if you were arguing that the moral absolutism is itself ethically unsound).
Ethics and Enthusiasm Hal Duncan 2009
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I suspect that the federal courts absolutism is a response to the conservative tribunal absolutism.
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This, not biblical absolutism, is ancient and traditional Christianity.
Christine Wicker: Learning to Talk About God and Sex Christine Wicker 2010
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What seems to be forgotten in such absolutism is what is lost in that pursuit.
The Volokh Conspiracy » Richard Thaler Responds to Critics of Libertarian Paternalism 2010
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ALF regards the question, both ends and means, as absolute, and if Dawkins point about absolutism is correct, then his criticism crosses over to this domain as well.
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When you get to the core of the argument, the question of relativism vs. absolutism is what the issue is about.
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But I tend to think that absolutism is still valid, and even necessary, in light of that perspective,.
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The thing is, being a fundamentalist about scriptural inerrancy or 'absolutism' - I've been reading Robin Gill isn't finally about our view of the Bible.
There Is No Slippery Slope James F. McGrath 2010
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Poland’s failure to form a strong central authority versus Prussia’s hyper-absolutism is still the most probable explanation for the differing outcomes. lakefxdan Says:
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I’m sure I’ve probably done this in the past, but I rather think absolutism is better accompanied by a pint and a wagging finger.
Ethics and Enthusiasm Hal Duncan 2009
qms commented on the word absolutism
It could be a slavish faux Putinism
Or native enjoyment of brutalism,
Or weak leader’s dread
Of being gainsaid
That fosters his crude absolutism.
July 5, 2018