PHI 215: Week 7

Rationalism

Belief that knowledge can be acquired through reason alone.

Empiricism

Theory that all knowledge comes from sense experience.

Dualism

Concept that the world consists of two fundamentally different substances, matter and spirit.

Determinism

Belief that all physical events are predetermined by prior causal factors.

Cartesian skepticism

Problem of how to have knowledge beyond the contents of our own minds.

Substance dualist

One who believes the world is made of two distinct substances, mind and matter.

Panpsychism

View that all physical objects are made up of monads that also possess mental aspects.

Pre-established harmony

Idea that monads exist in a harmonious relationship pre-established by God.

Idealism

Philosophical view that the world consists only of ideas, rejecting physical substance.

A priori reasoning

Reasoning independent of experience, providing understanding of relations of ideas.

A posteriori reasoning

Reasoning based on experience, essential for understanding matters of fact.

Skepticism about causation

Doubt regarding the necessity of causal connections between events.

Skepticism about induction

Doubt about making absolute predictions based on past observations.

Hume's skepticism about God

Critical examination of religious beliefs based on empirical evidence and rational inquiry.

Hume's view on The Self

Belief that the self is a projection from experiences, and we are just a bundle of experiences.