philosophy terms

ethics

1. Moral principles that govern a person's behavior or the conducting of an activity. 2. Moral principles that govern a person's behavior or the conducting of an activity.

Existentialism

A philosophical theory or approach which emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of the will.

atomism

The theory that minute, discrete, finite, and indivisible elements are the ultimate constituents of all matter.

determinism

The doctrine that all events, including human action, are ultimately determined by causes external to the will. Some philosophers have taken determinism to imply that individual human beings have no free will and cannot be held morally responsible for their actions.

dualism

A theory or system of thought that regards a domain of reality in terms of two independent principles, especially mind and matter (Cartesian dualism).

Empiricism

1. the philosophical doctrine that all ideas and categories are derived from sense experience and that knowledge cannot extend beyond experience, including observation, experiment, and induction. 2. The theory that all knowledge is derived from sense-experience. Stimulated by the rise of experimental science, it developed in the 17th and 18th centuries, expounded in particular by John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume.

epistemology

The theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, and scope. Epistemology is the investigation of what distinguishes justified belief from opinion and knowledge. What is known, yet unknown, and forever unknowable.

Eudaimonia

Conducive to happiness. Well being. Also spelled "eudaemonia".

Aesthetics

1. The branch of philosophy that deals with the principles of beauty and artistic taste. 2. a branch of philosophy dealing with beauty and the beautiful.

Cosmology

The branch of philosophy that studies the origin, evolution, and structure of the universe, especially such characteristics as space, time, causality, and freedom.

Hedonism

The ethical theory that pleasure (in the sense of the satisfaction of desires) is the highest good and proper aim of human life. The highest pleasure is a philosophical conversation with sincere individuals.

hoi polloi

the common people, the masses

Idealism

Any of various systems of thought in which the objects of knowledge are held to be in some way dependent on the activity of mind.

Materialism

The doctrine that nothing exists except matter and its movements and modifications.

Mechanism

The doctrine that all natural phenomena, including life and thought, allow mechanical explanation by physics and chemistry.

Mentalism

The theory that physical and psychological phenomena are ultimately explicable only in terms of a creative and interpretative mind.

Metaphysics

The branch of philosophy that deals with the first principles of things, including abstract concepts such as being, knowing, substance, cause, identity, time, and space.

Monism

1. the doctrine that reality consists of a single basic substance or element. 2. A theory or doctrine that denies the existence of a distinction or duality in some sphere, such as that between matter and mind, or God and the world.

Moral Philosophy

the branch of philosophy dealing with both argument about the content of morality and meta-ethical discussion of the nature of moral judgment, language, argument, and value.

Nihilism

1. Extreme skepticism maintaining that nothing in the world has a real existence. 2. The belief that existence is not real and that there can be no objective basis of truth, a form of extreme skepticism.

Ontology

The branch of metaphysics dealing with the nature of being.

Optimism

The doctrine, especially as set forth by Leibniz, that this world is the best of all possible worlds.

logic

reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity

Philosophy

1. The study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline. 2. Love of wisdom. :-)

Rationalism

1. The theory that reason rather than experience is the foundation of certainty in knowledge. 2. the philosophical doctrine that knowledge about reality can be obtained by reason alone without recourse to experience.

Skepticism

1. the doctrine that a true knowledge of things is impossible or that all knowledge is uncertain. 2. The theory that certain knowledge is impossible.

Teleology

1. For the sake of some purpose. 2. The explanation of phenomena in terms of the purpose they serve rather than of the cause by which they arise.

Vitalism

The theory that the origin and phenomena of life are dependent on a force or principle distinct from purely chemical or physical forces.

Esoteric

Intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest.

Kabbalah

The ancient Jewish tradition of mystical interpretation of the Bible, first transmitted orally and using esoteric methods (including ciphers).

Mysticism

Belief in the existence of realities beyond perceptual or intellectual apprehension that are directly accessible by subjective experience.

Pantheism

1. God is viewed as the soul of the universe, the universal spirit present everywhere, which at the same time "transcends" all things created. 2. the worship of all gods of different creeds, cults, or peoples indifferently also : toleration of worship of all gods (as at certain periods of the Roman empire)

Platonism

The theory that numbers or other abstract objects are objective, timeless entities, independent of the physical world and of the symbols used to represent them.

Pluralism

Philosophy a theory or system that recognizes more than one ultimate principle.

Quakerism

Central to the Quakers' belief is the doctrine of the "Inner Light," or sense of Christ's direct working in the soul.

Reincarnation

The rebirth of a soul in a new body. A person or animal in whom a particular soul is believed to have been reborn.

Transmutation

The action of changing or the state of being changed into another form.

Stoicism

Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BC. Also described as the art of living.

Apatheia

1. Lack of disturbing emotions. 2. A state of mind in Stoic philosophy in which one is free from emotional disturbance; the freedom from all passions.

Ataraxia

A lucid state of robust equanimity characterized by ongoing freedom from distress and worry.

Inductive logic

An argument in which the conclusion follows probably from the premises. the logic or theory of the methods and reasonings of empirical science.

Deductive logic

An argument in which the conclusion follows necessarily from the premises. of, relating to, or provable by deriving conclusions by reasoning: of, relating to, or provable by deduction.

Realism

The doctrine that universals or abstract concepts have an objective or absolute existence.

Equanimity

Mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation.

Dogmatism

1. Inclined to lay down principles as incontrovertibly true. 2. Adherence to a view without giving proper weight to evidence of arguments that may cast doubt.

Moral Relativism

Moral relativism is the view that moral judgments are true or false only relative to some particular standpoint (for instance, that of a culture or a historical period) and that no standpoint is uniquely privileged over all others.

Universal Moral Principles

Universal Morality is an ongoing attempt to work out the basic principles of a moral system that would apply to every individual member and every sub-group of every advanced civilization in the universe, to every advanced civilization as a whole, and to how all such civilizations should interact with each other.

Ethnocentrism

Evaluation of other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the standards and customs of one's own culture.

Privilege

A special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group.

Racism

Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism by an individual, community, or institution against a person or people on the basis of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized.

Virtue

Behavior showing high moral standards.

vice

immoral or wicked behavior

Moral Agency

A moral agent is a person who has the ability to discern right from wrong and to be held accountable for his or her own actions.

theology

the study of the nature of God and religious belief

aethism

disbelief or lack of belie in the existence of God or gods

agnostic

A person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God or of anything beyond material phenomena; a person who claims neither faith nor disbelief in God.

Freewill

The power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one's own discretion.

Tabla Rasa

An absence of preconceived ideas or predetermined goals; a clean slate.

A priori

Relating to or denoting reasoning or knowledge which proceeds from theoretical deduction rather than from observation or experience.

A posteriori

Relating to or denoting reasoning or knowledge which proceeds from observations or experiences to the deduction of probable causes.

Analytic

True by virtue of the meaning of the words or concepts used to express it, so that its denial would be a self-contradiction.

Synthetic

Of a proposition having truth or falsity determinable by recourse to experience.

Axiom

A statement or proposition which is regarded as being established, accepted, or self-evidently true.

Dialectic

The art of investigating or discussing the truth of opinions.

Rhetoric

The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.

Existence

The fact or state of living or having objective reality.

Fallacy

Logic: A failure in reasoning which renders an argument invalid.

Hermeneutics

The branch of knowledge that deals with interpretation, especially of the Bible or literary texts.

Consciousness

The state of being awake and aware of one's surroundings.

Normative

Establishing, relating to, or deriving from a standard or norm, especially of behavior.

Paradox

A seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.

Contingency

The absence of necessity; the fact of being so without having to be so.

Necessity

The principle according to which something must be so, by virtue either of logic or of natural law.

Platonic Forms

The theory of Forms or theory of Ideas is Plato's argument that non-physical forms represent the most accurate reality. When used in this sense, the word form or idea is often capitalized

Social Contract

An implicit agreement among the members of a society to cooperate for social benefits, for example by sacrificing some individual freedom for state protection.