Absolutism may refer to:

Government

Absolute monarchy Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism as a doctrine) is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute power, though a limited constitut ...

, in which a monarch rules free of laws or legally organized opposition *

Absolutism (European history) ''Absolutism'' or the ''Age of Absolutism'' ( – ) is a historiographical term used to describe a form of monarchical power that is unrestrained by all other institutions, such as churches, legislatures, or social elites. Absolutism is typi ...

, period c. 1610 – c. 1789 in Europe **

Enlightened absolutism Enlightened absolutism (also called enlightened despotism) refers to the conduct and policies of European absolute monarchs during the 18th and early 19th centuries who were influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment, espousing them to enhance ...

, influenced by the Enlightenment (18th- and early 19th-century Europe) *

Autocracy Autocracy is a system of government in which absolute power over a state is concentrated in the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject neither to external legal restraints nor to regularized mechanisms of popular control (except perh ...

, a political theory which argues that one person should hold all power **

Tsarist autocracy Tsarist autocracy (russian: царское самодержавие, transcr. ''tsarskoye samoderzhaviye''), also called Tsarism, was a form of autocracy (later absolute monarchy) specific to the Grand Duchy of Moscow and its successor states th ...

, is a form of autocracy (later absolute monarchy) specific to Russia

Philosophy

General philosophy

* Absolutism, the view that facts are absolute rather than merely relative (sometimes called "universality")

Ethics

Moral absolutism Moral absolutism is an ethical view that some (potentially all) actions are intrinsically right or wrong. Stealing, for instance, might be considered to be always immoral, even if done for the well-being of others (e.g., stealing food to feed a ...

, the belief in absolute standards against which moral questions can be judged, regardless of context *

Graded absolutism Graded absolutism is a theory of moral absolutism (in Christian ethics) which resolves the objection to absolutism (i.e., in moral conflicts, we are obligated to opposites). Moral absolutism is the ethical view that certain actions are absolutel ...

, the view that a moral absolute, such as "Do not kill", can be greater or lesser than another moral absolute, such as "Do not lie"

Hegelian philosophy

Absolute (philosophy) Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends a ...

, the Hegelian concept of an objective and unconditioned reality, said to underlie perceived objects *

Absolute idealism Absolute idealism is an ontologically monistic philosophy chiefly associated with G. W. F. Hegel and Friedrich Schelling, both of whom were German idealist philosophers in the 19th century. The label has also been attached to others such as Josi ...

, an ontologically monistic philosophy attributed to G. W. F. Hegel

Physics

Absolute theory In philosophy, absolute theory (or absolutism) usually refers to a theory based on concepts (such as the concept of space) that exist independently of other concepts and objects. The absolute point of view was advocated in physics by Isaac Newton. ...

, in physics **

Absolute space Absolute may refer to: Companies * Absolute Entertainment, a video game publisher * Absolute Radio, (formerly Virgin Radio), independent national radio station in the UK * Absolute Software Corporation, specializes in security and data risk manage ...

, a theory that space exists absolutely; contrast with relationalism

Psychology

Splitting (psychology) Splitting (also called black-and-white thinking or all-or-nothing thinking) is the failure in a person's thinking to bring together the dichotomy of both perceived positive and negative qualities of something into a cohesive, realistic whole. It is ...

, also called black-and-white thinking or all-or-nothing thinking {{disambig