postulation

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the act of proposing or assuming a claim, entity, or principle as a basis for reasoning

   Russell contrasts construction from defined objects with the postulation of entities whose existence has merely been assumed.

2. 2
   noun

   a proposition or assumption put forward without proof

   The model begins with the postulation that space is homogeneous.

From Latin postulatio ("a request, demand"), from postulare ("to ask, demand, claim"). In logic and philosophy, the idea of putting forward a claim developed into assuming a proposition or entity as a starting point.

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