formalism: Meaning and Definition of

for•mal•ism

1. strict adherence to, or observance of, prescribed or traditional forms, as in music, poetry, and art.
2. strong attachment to external forms and observances.
3. a doctrine that acts are in themselves right or wrong regardless of consequences.
4. a doctrine, which evolved from a proposal of David Hilbert, that mathematics, including the logic used in proofs, can be based on the formal manipulation of symbols without regard to their meaning.