What is "voluntarism"

Voluntarism \Vol"un*ta*rism\, n.

1. (Philosophy) Any theory which conceives will to be the dominant factor in experience or in the constitution of the world; -- contrasted with intellectualism. Schopenhauer and Fichte are typical exponents of the two types of metaphysical voluntarism, Schopenhauer teaching that the evolution of the universe is the activity of a blind and irrational will, Fichte holding that the intelligent activity of the ego is the fundamental fact of reality.

2. the principle or practice of depending on volunteers to support institutions or perform some desired action.

3. a political philosophy opposed to dependence on governmental action or support for social services that might be performed by private groups.

1838, "theory or principal of using voluntary action rather than coercion (in politics, religion, etc.), from voluntary + -ism. (Voluntaryism in the religious sense, as opposed to establishmentarianism, is recorded from 1835.) In philosophy, "theory that the will is the basic principle," 1896, from German Voluntarismus (Tönnies, 1883).

n. 1 (context US English) A reliance on volunteers to support an institution or achieve an end; volunteerism. 2 (context philosophy English) A doctrine that assigns the most dominant position to the will rather than the intellect. 3 (context politics English) The political theory that a community is best organized by the voluntary cooperation of individuals, rather than by a government, which is regarded as being coercive by nature.

Voluntarism is "any metaphysical or psychological system that assigns to the will ( Latin: voluntas) a more predominant role than that attributed to the intellect", or, equivalently, "the doctrine that will is the basic factor, both in the universe and in human conduct." This description has been applied to various points of view, from different cultural eras, in the areas of metaphysics, psychology, political philosophy, and theology.

The term "voluntarism" was introduced by Ferdinand Tönnies into the philosophical literature and particularly used by Wilhelm Wundt and Friedrich Paulsen.

Voluntarism may refer to:

• Voluntarism (action), any action based on non-coercion
• Voluntarism (philosophy), a perspective in metaphysics and the philosophy of mind that prioritizes the will over emotion or reason
• Voluntarism (psychology), the doctrine that the power of the will organizes the mind’s content into higher-level thought processes
• Voluntaryism, a libertarian socio-political system based on the absence of coercion by any arbitrary state or collective
• Volunteering, donating one's labor without monetary compensation

Voluntarism, sometimes referred to as voluntary action, is the principle that individuals are free to choose goals and how to achieve them within the bounds of certain societal and cultural constraints, as opposed to actions that are coerced or predetermined.