Epistemology
Theory of Knowledge
Christian Epistemology
Recognizes the ontological Trinity as the ultimate starting point of all knowledge, and is made known by revelation
Logic
The principles that make rational thought possible
Philosophy of Science
The study of the nature and status of scientific truth claims
Determinism
The philosophy that all events are completely determined by previous events
Free Will
The capacity to choose, some consider it the most unique and definitive quality of human beings
Ontology
The study of being, ontology, and metaphysics are used interchangeably
Absolutism
the idea that reality, truth, or morality is “absolute”
Deism
a form of Monotheism in which it is believed that one God exists, but that this God does not interfere with human life and the laws of the universew
Metaphysics
branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of existence, being, and the world
Theology
the study of the being, attributes, and works of God (“theology proper”)
Anthropology
the philosophical/theological study of man
Psychology
the scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those affecting behavior in a given context
Cosmology
the study of (or speculation about) the universe as a whole and its history
Philosophy of History
reflection on the overall shape and direction (if any) of history
Eschatology
the study of “the end” of history, theologically, the divinely appointed consummations of the individual, race and world
Atheism
lack of a belief in gods or a belief that there is no god
Causality
the principle that there is a cause for everything that happens
Soteriology
The (theological) study of salvation
Ethics
the study of morality, right, wrong, the law of God, and related ideas
Politics
Political philosophy, related to the theories and activities associated with the governance of a country
Economics
The branch of Knowledge associated with the production, consumption, and transfer of wealth
Argument
A series of statements with the goal of persuading someone of something
Aesthetics
The quality of something that brings pleasure or delight to the sense, or satisfaction and meaning to the mind
Teleology
The doctrine that behind all things there is a final cause, and that all developements occur according to design or purpose
Empirical
Dependent on, or in some way related to experience
Conscience
a faculty of the mind that motivates us to act morally--or at least according to our most deeply held values
Critical Thinking
the ability to reflect on (and so improve) your thoughts, beliefs, and expectations
Idealism
the group of metaphysical philosophies asserting that reality, or reality as humans know it, is fundamentally mental, mentally constructed, or otherwise immaterial
Pantheism
the view that the world is either identical to God, or an expression of God’s nature. “God is everything and everything is God.”
Rationalism
The epistemological view that “regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge.”
Dualism in metaphysics
The belief that there are two kinds of reality: material (physical) and immaterial (spiritual)
Humanism
a belief in the value, freedom, and independence of human beings
Scientificism
Theory or belief that all phenomena can be scientifically explained
Monism
The metaphysical and theological view that all is one, and there are no fundamental divisions
Aseity
the absolute self-sufficiency, autonomy, and independence of God
Philologist
Love of learning and literature; the branch of knowledge that deals with the linguistic, historical, interpretative, and critical aspects of knowledge
Materialism
The theory that only things that are real are objects that can be experience through the senses (seeing, hearing, feeling, touching, smelling)
Phenomenology
The study of “phenomena”: appearances of things, or things as they appear in our experience, or the ways we experience things, thus the meanings things have in our experience
Physicalism
The thesis, developed with empiricism, that every descriptive term in the language of science (in the widest sense, including social science) is connected with terms designating observable properties of things
Agency
the capacity for humans to make choices and to impose those choices on the world
A posteriori
where knowledge is possible only subsequent, or posterior, to certain sensory experiences, in addition to the use of reason (empirical)
A priori
where knowledge is possibly independently of, or prior to, any experience, and requires only the use of reason (non-empirical)
Axiom
A proposition that is not proved or demonstrated but considered to be self-evident and taken for granted
Consciousness
the faculty that perceives and identifies things that exist, and the relationship between oneself and one’s environment
Contingency
the status of facts that are not logically necessarily true or false (the possibility of something happening or not happening)
Deductive Reasoning
Reasoning that proceeds from general principles or premises to derive particular information (what follows necessarily from given premises)
Dialectic
The exchange of arguments and counter-arguments, respectively advocating propositions (theses) and counter-propositions (antitheses), in arriving at a conclusion (synthesis).
Emergence
the way complex systems and patterns arise (emerge) out of a multiplicity of relatively simple interactions
Entity
something that has a distinct and separate existence, although not necessarily a material existence
Essence
the attributes that make an object or substance what it fundamentally is, and that it has necessarily
Existence
the state or fact of existing or being (the continuance in being or life)
Formal Language
an organized set of symbols which can be precisely defined in terms of just the shapes and locations of those symbols, without any reference to any meanings or interpretations
Forms (Platonic Forms)
the universal concepts or ideas which make all of the phenomenal world intelligible (the essences of objects, rather than their physical forms or appearances)
Hermeneutics
the study of theories of the interpretation and understanding of texts (often the Bible)
Normative
indicative of how things should or ought to be (as opposed to positive or descriptive)
Noumenon
the intellectual conception of a thing as it is in itself, not as it is known through perception
Object
A thing, an entity or being, that can have properties and bear relations to other objects. They are usually types of particulars, but there can also be abstract objects
Phenomenon
a thing as it appears to be, as constructed by the mind and perceived by the senses
Scientific Method
the collection of data through observation and experimentation, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses
Social Contract
the idea that people give up some rights to a government and /or other authority in forming nations in order to jointly preserve or maintain social order and security
Tabula Rasa
the idea that individual human beings are born with no innate mental content, but their knowledge is built up gradually from their experiences and sensory perceptions of the outside world (literally “blank slate”)
Theodicy
an attempt to reconcile the existence of evil or suffering in a world with the belief in an omniscient, omnipotent and benevolent God