1. The philosophical view that the meaning, truth, or interpretation of something depends on its context rather than on fixed, universal principles.
Usage: philosophy; linguistics
2. In epistemology and semantics, the theory that knowledge claims, utterances, or propositions are true or false only relative to a specific context of use.
Usage: formal philosophy

Examples

• Contextualism in linguistics explains why the word 'here' means different places depending on where it is spoken.
• Some philosophers defend contextualism about knowledge to account for how standards of evidence shift in different situations.
• The debate between contextualism and invariantism concerns whether truth-conditions change with conversational context.
• Contextualism suggests that calling someone 'tall' is not absolutely true or false, but depends on the relevant comparison group.
• In legal interpretation, contextualism emphasizes understanding laws in light of their historical and social background.
• Critics of contextualism worry that it makes meaning too variable and subjective.