What is "irrealism"

n. 1 (context philosophy English) The belief that phenomenalism and physicalism are alternative "world-versions", both useful in some circumstances, but neither capable of fully capturing the other. 2 (context arts English) A style that features an estrangement from our generally accepted sense of reality.

Irrealism is a term that has been used by various writers in the fields of philosophy, literature, and art to denote specific modes of unreality and/or the problems in concretely defining reality. While in philosophy the term specifically refers to a position put forward by the American philosopher Nelson Goodman, in literature and art it refers to a variety of writers and movements. If the term has nonetheless retained a certain consistency in its use across these fields and would-be movements, it perhaps reflects the word’s position in general English usage: though the standard dictionary definition of irreal gives it the same meaning as unreal, irreal is very rarely used in comparison with unreal. Thus, it has generally been used to describe something which, while unreal, is so in a very specific or unusual fashion, usually one emphasizing not just the "not real," but some form of estrangement from our generally accepted sense of reality.

Irrealism is a philosophical position first advanced by Nelson Goodman in "Ways of Worldmaking", encompassing epistemology, metaphysics, and aesthetics.

Irrealism has two main meanings:

• Irrealism (philosophy) in philosophy; the common name for a position first advanced by Nelson Goodman in Ways of Worldmaking.
• Irrealism (the arts) in the arts and critical theory refers to both a style that features an estrangement from our generally accepted sense of reality, and a critical theory that interprets other works in this manner.