What does personalism mean?
Personalism is an outlook that places the individual person at the center of philosophical, ethical, social, or theological reflection. It holds that human beings possess intrinsic dignity and that their agency, experience, and relationships matter when understanding what is right or good. In Christian theology, personalism commonly gives special attention to the person and identity of Jesus and emphasizes the value of every human being. In broader philosophical discussion, personalism is often presented as an alternative to approaches that treat persons as parts of an impersonal system, such as some forms of collectivism or mechanistic accounts of human behavior. The term can also have connotations of moral individualism, although personalist thinkers have not always treated individual freedom as the only social value. It remains primarily an academic term, most often encountered in philosophy, theology, and discussions of human rights and social responsibility.
nounPersonalism is a philosophical or theological position that emphasizes the dignity, value, or autonomy of individual persons, often grounding social and religious principles in human nature and personal experience.
- A philosophical position that regards the individual person as the primary focus of moral, social, or religious thought.
- A theological approach that emphasizes the person of Jesus Christ and the significance of individual human existence.
"Her personalism led her to defend individual rights while remaining deeply concerned with the common good."
"The philosopher's personalism challenged doctrines that subordinated individuals to impersonal social systems."
"Christian personalism seeks to connect the teachings of Jesus with concern for the dignity and welfare of every person."
The plural is used when referring to different personalist doctrines or approaches.
"The two personalisms differ in how they understand the relationship between individual freedom and social responsibility."
Personalism asks a radical question: if every person possesses intrinsic worth, what obligations does that worth create toward others?
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does personalism come from?
The word personalism combines the English adjective personal with the suffix -ism, a formation used to identify a distinctive doctrine, practice, or outlook. Personal ultimately comes from Latin personalis, meaning “of or relating to a person,” from persona, a term associated with a mask and, by extension, a character or role. The English noun personalism emerged during the nineteenth century as philosophical and theological writers used it to name approaches centered on the person.
Related word forms
How personalism is actually used
The term is chiefly intellectual and religious. In general philosophical use it can suggest attention to individual agency and human worth; in theology it commonly refers to a movement or approach rather than a single unified doctrine.
Easily confused with personalism
Personalism is a philosophy or theological outlook centered on persons, whereas personality refers to an individual's characteristic traits, temperament, or identity.