Anthropology unit terms

biological death

Physically irreversible death, where life cannot be restored.

clinical death

External life signs such as consciousness, pulse, and breathing are absent. This view still allows the possibility of the reversal of death

Consciousness

our awareness of ourselves and our environment; the upper level of mental life of which the person is aware as contrasted with unconscious processes

Darwinian evolution

The general theory of (macro) evolution named after Charles Darwin, the British naturalist who expounded this theory in 1859 in his Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.

dependent origination

a twelve-part formula (doctrine) explaining how individuals are bound to future rebirth until they eliminate desire and ignorance.

dualism

the presumption that mind and body are two distinct entities that interact

eternal

a term that describes existing without a beginning and forever

Kalam Cosmological argument

An argument for God's existence with the following syllogism:

1. Whatever begins to exist has a cause.

2. The universe began to exist.

3. Therefore, the universe has a cause.

Lokapurusha

representation of the cosmos/universe as a giant man, as depicted in Jainism

Multi-verse theory

Makes the anthropic principle irrelevant as it suggests that there are an infinite number of universes in which one of them would have perfect conditions for human life, making human life inevitable.

Old Earth Creationism

a harmonization of the biblical account of creation with the scientific account of evolution that views the earth as about 4.5 billion years old

Oscillating model

Theory that the universe expands and contracts repeatedly over time, typically associated with the karmic religions

physicalism

the theory that human beings can be explained completely and adequately in terms of their material components

Qualia

In philosophy, private conscious experiences of sensation or perception.

reincarnation

The process by which a soul is reborn continuously (spiritual evolution) until it achieves perfect understanding (salvation) as taught in the karmic religions

SURGE

an acronym that consists of 5 things that can be empirically verified, which supports the idea that the universe began to exist

sustenance

the maintaining of someone or something in life or existence

Theistic evolution

The theory that utilizes Evolutionary Creation (EC) on origins. This view teaches that God used the process of evolution to bring about all of the life forms on earth, but rejects the Scientism of Evolutionism, which teaches that everything can be explained through science. EC teaches that God works miracles within His creation.

triumvirate

Also known as the trimurti in Hinduism, which refers to the three main gods of Brahma (Creator), Vishnu (Sustainer), and Shiva (Destroyer). They are believed to enable the universe to eternally exist through eternal oscillations.

Young Earth Creationism

The theory that states the earth was created early and the universe is young (between 6,000-10,000 years), primarily due to interpreting Genesis 1 literally.