Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person - Week 1

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the definitions, key philosophers, and core concepts of introductory philosophy based on the lecture notes.

Philosophy

Derived from the Greek words philo (love) and sophia (wisdom), meaning the love of wisdom and the desire to possess and correctly apply knowledge.

Pythagoras

A 6th century BCE philosopher who was the first to call himself a philosopher (philosophos), or "lover of wisdom."

Philosophizing

An attempt to logically formulate, understand, and answer essential questions using reason as a tool to reflect, explain, and analyze experiences.

Socrates

The first major Greek philosopher known for the Socratic Method and for focusing his thoughts on morals, good and evil, and society.

Socratic Method

A way of studying problems through a question and answer technique created by Socrates.

Plato

A student of Socrates who wrote the Republic, founded the Academy, and believed that a philosopher should be king.

The Republic

The most famous work of Plato where he expressed his thought that a philosopher should be king.

Academy

The school founded by Plato where Aristotle became one of his students.

Aristotle

A student of Plato who founded the Lyceum, focused on science as a practical area of philosophy, and believed reason was the highest good.

Lyceum

The school founded by the philosopher Aristotle.

Metaphysics

The branch of philosophy that studies the physical universe and the nature of ultimate reality.

Logic

The branch of philosophy that differentiates between valid and confusing ideas.

Axiology

The branch of philosophy concerned with the study of principles and values, specifically Ethics and Aesthetics.

Epistemology

The branch of philosophy that considers how people come to learn what they know and the sources of knowledge.

Doing Philosophy

The process of engaging in philosophical reflections and finding methodologies to eliminate practical problems or abstract ideas.

Holistic Point of View

A perspective that looks at all aspects of a given problem or situation to form a general overview before making conclusions.

Partial Point of View

A perspective that looks only at a limited number of aspects and makes conclusions based on some, but not all, sides of a situation.