Definition of "historicism" [historicism]

• A theory that events are determined or influenced by conditions and inherent processes beyond the control of humans. (noun)
• A theory that stresses the significant influence of history as a criterion of value. (noun)
• Art & Architecture The deliberate use or revival of historical styles in contemporary works. (noun)
• Philosophy The view that historical periods should be studied without imposing anachronistic categories of evaluation. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "He criticized what he called historicism, the perspective that all standards are relative to or imposed by particular historical situations."
• "Wilson goes on to maintain that "the triumph of historicism is a pity, not least because the dominance of any orthodoxy tends to deaden the critical faculties," but she has clearly accepted the underlying demonization of formalism (it's "inhuman," to accept it "heresy") that has made the domination of historicism in academic criticism possible."
• "Perhaps alterity has become such a blind spot in historicism generally because it simultaneously serves as a proxy for "accuracy" and self-consciousness."