Philosophy Final

Metaphysics

Refers to concepts that deal with the fundamental nature of reality, existence, and being.

Relativism

The view that truth, morality, or knowledge is not absolute but instead is dependent on individual perspectives.

Archetype

A universal understanding or way of thinking.

Solipsism

Living in one’s isolated bubble or perspective.

Empiricism

The theory that learning comes through experience or observation.

Epistemology

The branch of philosophy that examines the justification of beliefs, the reliability of evidence, and the criteria for truth.

Socratic Method

A method of analyzing a philosophical question.

Psyche

The true self or 'soul,' which is immortal and imperishable.

Dialectic

A discussion, reasoning, or argumentation method that explores and resolves contradictions to arrive at a more profound understanding or truth.

Heresy

A belief contrary to religious doctrine.

Form (uppercase)

The perfect, universal, abstract idea of something (according to Plato).

form (lowercase)

The shape, structure, and essence of a thing (according to Aristotle).

Oracle

A priest or priestess acting as a medium through whom advice or prophecy was sought.

Heraclitus

A philosopher who believed that everything was in a state of change; flux.

Aréte

Excellence or being virtuous.

Eudaimonia

Human flourishing or happiness (fulfillment).

Skepticism

Doubting or questioning the validity or truth of something.

Rationalism

The belief that knowledge is innate and prior to experience.

Transcendental idealism

Describes the truth about the world that is both necessary and universal ('Beyond perfect thought').

A-posteriori

Knowledge gained after experience.

A-priori

Innate knowledge or knowledge that comes before experience.

Paradigmatic

Infusion of daily tasks with a sense of purpose, significance, or cosmic value.

Nihilism

Believing in nothing; the view that nothing has value (destructive).

Entelechy

The idea that the physical world has design and an objective plan.

Logos

A rhetorical device that uses logic, reasoning, and evidence to support an argument.

Objective

Refers to something that exists independently of personal feelings, interpretations, or perceptions.

Anamnesis

Learning is akin to remembering.

Phenomenology

The study of lived experience and the world as constructed through personal senses.

Duality

The view that the mind and body (or matter) are distinct kinds of natures.

Telos

The ultimate purpose, aim, or goal of something (e.g., acorn to oak tree).

Cartesian dualism

The view that mind and body are two separate substances.

Inductive

A way of reasoning that starts with specific knowledge to arrive at a universal truth.

Deductive

A way of reasoning that starts with a universal concept and then focuses on specific knowledge.

Synthesis

A way of thinking used to justify truth and reasoning.

Tabula rasa

The idea that individuals are born without built-in mental content, referred to as a blank slate.

Cogito ergo sum

Latin for 'I think, therefore I am' (Descartes).

Ecocentrism

The belief that nature has its own purpose and center.

Infinite regress

The cosmological argument suggesting everything comes from something that preceded it.

Subjective

Refers to anything that is influenced by personal experiences, feelings, perceptions, or interpretations.

Tautology

Universal knowledge that is always true by definition (e.g., a triangle has three sides).

Anthropocentric

Human-centered or focused.

Paradigm

A universal way of understanding something.

Lebenswelt

The ability to encounter other personal selves.

Intersubjectivity

The relation or intersections between people’s perspectives.

Noumenal World

The world of reality that we cannot truly know.

Phenomenal World

The world of experience and intersubjectivity available to us, not true reality.

Ontological

Pertaining to the nature of being.

Animism

Attributing souls to nature, animals, and natural phenomena.

Systems Theory

Looking at all the systems that make up the entire concept, idea, or system.

Minobimaatiisiiwin

Maintaining a relationship with nature (Natural Law) in the Indigenous worldview.

Orality

The study of the characteristics, dynamics, and implications of oral traditions and spoken word.

Milieu

The biological world and living beings.

Eidos

The form and idea of something.

Phantasmagoria

A fantastic or dreamlike sequence of real or imagined images.

Atonement

Making amends or fixing something wrong to restore a relationship or bring forgiveness.

Tautologies

Statements that prove themselves.

Paradisiacal

Refers to ideas, states, or conditions that evoke qualities of a paradise or ideal perfection.

Cyclical

Something that happens in a regular, repeating pattern or cycle.

Totemism

The study and interpretation of the symbolic role of totems or revered entities.

Paradox

A statement that seems to contradict itself or goes against the common opinion.

Hylomorphism

The belief that all material objects consist of both matter and form.

Transcendental Idealism

The claim that all empirical objects are mind-dependent, and we cannot cognize the mind-independent world.

Causal Theory of Perception

Emphasizes the causal relationship between the perceiver and the world.

Plato’s Theory of Forms

Suggests that the real world is a world of ideas called Forms, which are unchanging concepts.

Aristotle’s 4 Causes

Refers to the explanation of why things exist as they are.

Brain in a Vat

A thought experiment that questions our perception of reality.

Noumenal Reality

The world beyond our perceptions.

Skepticism

The act of questioning the possibility of knowledge.

Constructivism

A theory on how people construct their own understanding of the world.

Synthetic A Priori

Knowledge that can be applied to experience but is a priori.

Copernican Revolution

An entirely new method of viewing reality.

Intrinsic

Having one's nature in one's own self.

Secondary Qualities

Properties such as smell, color, odor, and taste.

Ontology

The study of the nature of being.

Speculation

To wonder and think of various possibilities and outcomes.

Primary Qualities

Properties such as motion, size, volume, and number.

Flux

Perpetual change in motion.

Systematic

Done or acting according to a fixed plan or method.

Anthropomorphic

To represent or relate something in human form.

Epistemology

The study of knowledge.

Phenomenology

A philosophical movement that studies the structures of experience and consciousness from the first-person perspective.