actualism

noun

ac·​tu·​al·​ism

ˈak-chə(-wə)-ˌli-zəm,

-shə-

plural -s

1

: a philosophical doctrine that all existence is active or spiritual, not inert or dead, or that reality is founded on activity or consists of process

2

: the theory that the self is a bundle of successive perceptions rather than a unified substance or entity

3

geology : uniformitarianism sense 1

But a uniformity of causes does not imply a uniformity of rates, intensities, conditions, or results. … Some people consider actualism a better term than uniformitarianism. Processes that actually operate now, or those inferred to operate, can explain features and events of the past.

—Alan M. Cvancara, A Field Manual For The Amateur Geologist, 1995

Word History

Etymology

actual entry 1 + -ism

First Known Use

1858, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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