any system of philosophy, esp that of Kant, holding that the key to knowledge of the nature of reality lies in the critical examination of the processes of reason on which depends the nature of experience
b.
any system of philosophy, esp that of Emerson, that emphasizes intuition as a means to knowledge or the importance of the search for the divine
2.
vague philosophical speculation
3.
the state of being transcendental
4.
something, such as thought or language, that is transcendental
Derived forms
transcendentalist (ˌtranscenˈdentalist)
noun, adjective
transcendentalism in American English
(ˌtrænsɛnˈdɛntəlˌɪzəm)
noun
1.
any of various philosophies that propose to discover the nature of reality by investigating the process of thought rather than the objects of sense experience: the philosophiesof Kant, Hegel, and Fichte are examples of transcendentalism
2. US; [oftenT-]
by extension, the philosophical ideas of Emerson and some other 19th-cent. New Englanders, basedon a search for reality through spiritual intuition
3. Popularly
any obscure, visionary, or idealistic thought
Derived forms
transcendentalist (ˌtranscenˈdentalist)
noun, adjective
Word origin
< 18th-c. Ger transcendentalismus: see transcendental & -ism
Examples of 'transcendentalism' in a sentence
transcendentalism
She tries to picture Chas in a tweed jacket, talking about transcendentalism.