rs- glossary year 9

glossary (back of book )

agnostic

not being sure if god exists

empirical evidence

information gathered through direct sensory experience

rationalism

the view that the ultimate source of knowledge is reason

empiricism

the view that the ultimate source of knowledge is experience

efficient cause

who/ what brings something into existence 

a Posteriori argument

a philosophical argument rooted in sensory experience

premise

a statement or idea which serves and the basis for the argument

conclusion

a judgement reached by resoning

syllogism

a logical argument with two statements that lead to a conclusion 

religious experience

an event that people feel gives them a direct contact with God / the Divine

prove

we can be sure of something

miracle

something extraordinary that is not explainable by scientific laws and could be linked to a higher power

extraordinary 

doesn’t happen everday

attributed

an act created by someone

arbitary

random

partisan

being one sided

position

point of view

occur

happen / are real

claim

what they think

performs

carry out or makes happen

trivial

not meaningful

allegory

a story, poem or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically moral or political

soul

the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal regarded as immortal

dualism

the idea that minds/souls exist and are not identical to bodies or to parts of bodies. the mind/ soul is distinct from the body; two separate entities

monoism

the idea that the body and soul are one and the same thing. we may call it materialism which holds that everything is made of matter - if it cannot be reduced to a material thing, it does not exist

fallacy

a mistake in reasoning that makes and argument untrue or misleading

tautology

a statement that is always true because it repeats the same idea in different words

near death experience

when someone about to die has an out of body experience

ethics

a branch of philosophy concerned with morality

IVF

the process by which the egg and sperm are fertilised in a laboratory environment to produce and embryo. the embryo is then placed back into the mother to produce a child

abortion

the removal of a foetus from the womb before it can survive

pro life

against abortion at all costs

pro choice

in favour of the right to decide if you keep a pregnancy