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The word "formalism" as used at present has several different meanings. A very technical sense is manifest when the term is used as a synonym for "formal system" or "formal calculus," i.e. to denote some particular abstract or formal construction (e.g. in expressions such as "the internal limitations of formalisms").¹ A still technical, but more general meaning is expressed when "formalism" is used to denote a particular doctrine which took shape in the context of the debates on the foundations of mathematics at the beginning of the present century and whose leading representative was Hilbert. This doctrine is usually contrasted with intuitionism and logicism,its rivals in the philosophy of mathematics.² Finally "formalism" is sometimes used to indicate a general intellectual attitude, namely that which favours "form' rather than "content' in various fields of inquiry, for reasons which, as a whole, rest on the view that this approach affords a higher degree of objectivity and rigour than do others. One might therefore say that formalism in this more general sense expresses the widespread tendency of our age to introduce a scientific approach in all fields of inquiry, formal tools being considered a very fundamental part of this approach. In this spirit, the correct adjective related to "formalism" is "formal," and formalism may be seen as a focusing upon the formal aspect of problems. When the additional claim is made that whatever is not included in this aspect is irrelevant, this claim or attitude is called "formalistic," and a negative sense of `being one-sided' is often attached to this adjective. This pejorative sense is predominant in everyday language, where formalism usually denotes a superficial or even insincere mental or practical attitude, which pays attention to the external "form', to the pure appearance of correctness, rather than to the "substance' of things and to their intrinsic value.

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-017-4522-2_4

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