spiritualism

Definition

A doctrine, opposing materialism, that claims transcendency of the divine being, the altogether spiritual character of reality and the value of inwardness of consciousness.

Etymology

From spiritual + -ism. In Allan Kardec's book The Spirits Book (1857) (Le Livre des Esprits in the original French), in which a distinction between spiritism and spiritualism is defined.

Example Sentences

• "What is called spiritualism should, I think, be called a mental species of materialism."
• "I wish it were possible to impress this truth upon people who rush into spiritualism from curiosity, or who try "table rapping" or some similar phenomenon "for fun"."