Spiritualism (beliefs) - Usage

Usage

Spiritualism is used in English to mean either;

  • 1) (Religion) – the belief that people can and do communicate with dead people and the practices and doctrines of people with this belief.
  • 2) (Philosophy) – In a philosophical doctrine or religious beliefs emphasising that spirits and souls exist or that all reality is spiritual, not material.
  • 3) (Metaphysics) – various doctrines maintaining that the ultimate reality is spirit or mind.
  • 4) (Ethics) – the view that spiritual concerns are more important than this-worldly concerns (a kind of idealism or asceticism that is opposed to secularism).
  • 5) (Epistemology) – another term for mysticism.
  • 6) (Art) – "Abstract Spiritualism", a term coined by Gerard Tempest, friend of the renowned surrealist Giorgio de Chirico in the 1950s to describe his "landscapes of the mind's eye." A recurring theme begun in 1953 and continuing throughout the 1990s.

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