Definition: In philosophy, the term "actualist" refers to a philosophical position that posits that knowledge is objective and independent of human perceptions or experience. It emphasizes the role of reason and empirical evidence in acquiring knowledge. The concept of actualism was first articulated by Charles Sanders Peirce (1808-1895) in his famous paper "On Sense, Reason, and Reality" published in 1862. His work laid the foundation for a systematic approach to philosophy that emphasizes reason as the ultimate basis for knowledge. The primary goal of actualists is to establish that human experience is the sole source of objective truth and that empirical evidence alone cannot provide absolute knowledge of reality. This approach is distinct from postmodernist approaches that reject reason and rely on subjective experience or intuition. For example, a realist might argue that humans can produce only causal explanations for their own actions; they do not have an innate sense of causality that guides them through the world. In contrast, an actualist might assert that humans can perceive phenomena with a particular set of senses (such as sight, sound, touch) and infer the underlying causes from this perception. In summary, the term "actualist" refers to a philosophical stance that emphasizes the role of reason and empirical evidence in acquiring knowledge, particularly in the context of philosophy. It advocates for an objective source of truth and rejects postmodernism's reliance on subjective experience or intuition.
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