Christian Philosophy Practice Flashcards

This set of vocabulary flashcards summarizes the key figures, schools of thought, and philosophical terms from Dr. John D. Wilsey's Christian Philosophy lectures, spanning from the Pre-Socratics to Modern developments.

Philosophy

Translated as "the love of wisdom," it is described by Dr. Wilsey as a way of thinking about specific subjects—clarifying basic assumptions about reality, truth, and knowledge—rather than a specific field of thought.

Metaphysics

The branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of things and the study of reality.

Epistemology

The branch of philosophy that investigates the nature of knowledge and the methods of how we know things.

4 Cardinal Virtues

In Greek thought, these primary virtues are Courage, Wisdom, Justice, and Decorum.

Transcendentals

The three real things in which Greeks and Christians should revel: Truth, Beauty, and Goodness.

Thales

The 6th century BC founder of Greek philosophy who suggested that water was the basic substance of reality and predicted a solar eclipse.

Anaximander

A student of Thales who believed reality was made of something indeterminate or infinite and that gods organized disorder into order using eternal matter.

Mathematikoi

Followers of Pythagoras who focused on Math, Music, and Astronomy, rejecting the idea of a single substance in favor of a universe made of different numbers.

Logos

A term coined by Heraclitus to describe the essential reason or the rational principle under which all reality is demonstrated.

Parmenides

An Eleatic philosopher who argued that all change is an illusion and that Reason is superior to Experience in obtaining true path to reality.

Sophists

Relativistic teachers, including Protagoras, who were skeptical of religion and morals, often treating the individual as the measure of truth.

Socratic Method

A teaching style that avoids propositions, instead using constant questioning to reveal and challenge a student's underlying assumptions.

Theory of the Forms

Plato's metaphysical theory that perfect, unchanging, and transcendent ideas (forms) exist in heaven, and all material objects are merely flawed copies of these forms.

Allegory of the Cave

A story used by Plato to illustrate how sense perceptions and shadows can mislead human beings concerning true knowledge.

Eudaimonia

The goal of all ethics and moral thought, meaning "flourishing," "well-being," or "goodness," achieved through the pursuit of the perfect rather than earthly pleasures.

Substance (Aristotle)

The combination of both form and matter that constitutes a thing; Aristotle believed these two cannot exist without the other, except in the case of God.

The Golden Mean

Aristotle's ethical concept that virtue is the middle ground between two extremes, such as courage being the mean between cowardice and foolhardy zeal.

Epicureans

Hellenistic philosophers who focused on gaining individual happiness through hedonistic and materialistic views, trusting only the senses.

Stoics

Thinkers such as Epictetus who pursued inner peace by mastering passions, performing duties, and living according to the rational, moral laws of nature.

Ontological Argument

An a priori argument by Anselm of Canterbury stating that since God is the greatest conceivable being, he must exist in reality because existence is greater than mere mental conception.

Summa Theologica

Thomas Aquinas's major work where he draws a distinction between theology (revealed knowledge) and philosophy (logical explanation of nature).

A posteriori

Knowledge or arguments that come after evidence or experience, such as Aquinas's cosmological arguments for the existence of God.

Nominalism

The view associated with William of Ockham asserting that universals are merely names or sounds assigned to objects and that only particular, individual things are real.

Humanism

A Renaissance outlook emphasizing human dignity and the aesthetic value of civilization, often looking back to Greek and Roman sources ("Ad Fontes").

Cogito ergo sum

René Descartes's foundational rationalist claim, "I think therefore I am," established after systematic doubt of the external world.

Monads

Gottfried Leibniz's term for the simple substances that make up the world, ranging from the lowest forms to the highest (God).

Idols of the Mind

Francis Bacon's classification of stumbling blocks to learning: Idols of the Tribe (human nature), Cave (personal bias), Marketplace (language), and Theater (dogmas).

Tabula Rasa

John Locke's empiricist concept that human beings are born as "blank slates" with no innate ideas, gaining all knowledge through sensation and reflection.

Hume's Fork

David Hume's distinction between two types of knowledge: Relations of Ideas (certainty) and Matters of Fact (experience-based).

Categorical Imperative

Immanuel Kant's universal moral command that is valid under all circumstances, requiring individuals to act according to maxims that could be universalized.

Noumena

In Kantian philosophy, the "thing in itself" which is impossible for the human mind to know directly, as opposed to the phenomena which we experience.

The Dialectic

G.W.F. Hegel's process of reality moving through a Thesis (idea), an Antithesis (rebuttal), and a Synthesis (resolution).

Pragmatism

An American philosophical movement suggesting that the measure of truth is whether or not an idea practically "works" or has "cash value."

Logical Positivism

An anti-metaphysical movement that used the "verification principle" to claim that only statements tested by scientific observation are factual.

Deconstructionism

Jacques Derrida's Postmodern theory that there is no objective meaning in a text and that meaning is determined by the reader's response.

Socrates

An Ancient Greek philosopher known for his contribution to ethics and epistemology. He is famous for the Socratic method of questioning.

Plato

A student of Socrates and founder of the Academy. He is known for his works on forms, ethics, and political theory, most notably in 'The Republic'.

Aristotle

A student of Plato who contributed to many fields including metaphysics, ethics, and politics. He emphasized empirical observation and analysis.

Heraclitus

A Pre-Socratic philosopher known for his doctrine that everything is in constant flux and the idea that fire is the primary substance of the universe.

Pythagoras

An influential Pre-Socratic philosopher known primarily for his contributions to mathematics and philosophy, including the assertion that numbers are the essence of all things.

Anaxagoras

A Pre-Socratic philosopher who introduced the notion of 'nous' (mind or intellect) as a cosmic ordering principle.

Democritus

An atomist philosopher who proposed that everything is composed of small, indivisible particles called atoms.

Xenophanes

A Pre-Socratic philosopher known for critiquing traditional Greek religion and asserting that there is one eternal god, unlike mortals in form.

Zeno of Elea

A philosopher known for his paradoxes, which challenge the ideas of plurality and motion, notably through arguments such as Achilles and the Tortoise.

Aristotle's Four Causes

Aristotle's framework for understanding change and existence, which includes Material, Formal, Efficient, and Final causes.

Socratic Method

A form of dialogue used by Socrates to explore philosophical questions and stimulate critical thinking among interlocutors.

Platonic Love

A concept developed by Plato referring to love that transcends physical attraction and aims at a higher intellectual and spiritual connection.

Metaphysics (Aristotle)

Aristotle's exploration of existence, reality, and the nature of being, discussing topics such as substance, potentiality, and actuality.

Augustine of Hippo

A prominent early Christian theologian and philosopher whose works integrate Christian doctrine with Neoplatonism, significantly shaping Medieval philosophy.

Scholasticism

A medieval school of thought that sought to reconcile faith and reason, emphasizing dialectical reasoning to understand and explain religious doctrine.

Problems of Universals

The debate concerning whether universals (like properties or relations) exist independently of the objects they represent; key positions include realism, nominalism, and conceptualism.

Realism (Universals)

The position that universals exist independently of the objects we perceive. Plato and Aristotle's differing views represent fundamental aspects of this debate.

Nominalism

The belief that universals are merely names or linguistic labels for groups of objects rather than real entities; associated with thinkers like William of Ockham.

Conceptualism

The view that universals exist as concepts in the mind but have no independent existence outside of individual objects; a middle ground between realism and nominalism.

Renaissance Humanism

A cultural and intellectual movement during the Renaissance that emphasized the study of classical texts, human potential, and secular subjects, shifting focus from religious to human-centered thought.

Descartes

A French philosopher known as the father of modern philosophy, who emphasized doubt and analytical thought, famously declaring 'Cogito, ergo sum' ('I think, therefore I am').

Spinoza

A Dutch philosopher who challenged traditional religious views and proposed a pantheistic understanding of God, arguing for the unity of substance in his work, 'Ethics'.

Leibniz

A philosopher and mathematician who developed the concept of monads as simple substances, argued for pre-established harmony, and contributed to calculus.

Kant

A German philosopher known for his work in epistemology and ethics, who sought to synthesize rationalism and empiricism, notably through the 'Categorical Imperative'.

Hegel

A German philosopher whose dialectical method and theory of absolute idealism emphasized the progression of reality through the synthesis of opposites, shaping modern philosophy.

Locke

An English philosopher known for his empiricist views and theory of mind as a 'tabula rasa,' emphasizing that knowledge comes from sensory experience and reflection.

Hume

A Scottish philosopher whose empiricism and skepticism critiqued rationalism, questioning causal inference and proposing that human