Philosophy Final

Metaphysics

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

Relativism

View that truth, morality, or knowledge is not absolute but instead is dependent on individual perspectives

Archetype

Universal understanding/way of thinking

Solipsism

Living in one’s isolated bubble/perspective

Empiricism

learning comes through experience or observation

Epistemology

Branch of philosophy that examines the justification of beliefs, the reliability of evidence, and the criteria for truth

Socratic Method

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

Belief contrary to religious doctrine

Form (uppercase)

the perfect, universal, abstract idea of something (Plato)

form (lowercase)

shape, structure, and essence of a thing(Aristotle)

Oracle

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

Heraclitus

Philosopher who believed that everything was in a state of change; flux

Aréte

Excellence, being virtuous

Eudaimonia

Human flourishing, happiness (fulfillment)

Skepticism

doubting or questioning the validity or truth of something

Rationalism

A belief that knowledge is innate; prior to experience

Transcendental idealism

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

A-posteriori

After experience

A-priori

Innate knowledge / before experience

Paradigmatic

daily tasks of life are infused with a sense of purpose, significance, or cosmic value

Nihilism

Believing in nothing/nothing has value (destructive)

Entelechy

The physical world has design, an objective plan

Logos

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 like remembering

Phenomenology

Study of lived experience, world constructed through personal senses

Duality

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

Telos

the ultimate purpose, aim, or goal of something (acorn to oak tree)

Cartesian dualism

View that mind and body are two separate substances

Human beings consist of both a physical body (governed by physical laws) and an immaterial mind (that is not subject to physical laws)

inductive

Way of reasoning: start with specific knowledge and combine other specific understanding to come to a universal truth

deductive

Way of reasoning: Start with a universal concept, then focus on specific knowledge

Synthesis

A way of thinking to justify truth and reasoning

Tabula rasa

the idea that individuals are born without built-in mental content, a blank slate

Cogito ergo sum

I think, therefore, I am (Descartes)

Ecocentrism

Nature has its purpose and center

Infinite regress

Cosmological argument - everything comes from something before it

subjective

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

Tautology

Universal knowledge that is always true by definition (triangle has 3 sides, bald man has no hair)

Anthropocentric

Human-centered/focused

Paradigm

Universal way of understanding something

Lebenswelt

Ability to encounter other personal selves

Intersubjectivity

The relation or intersections between people’s perspectives

Noumenal World

World of reality (that we cannot truly know)

Phenomenal World

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

Ontological

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 world view

Orality

the study of the characteristics, dynamics, and implications of oral traditions and spoken word as distinct from written forms of communication

Milieu

Biological world and living beings

Eidos

Form and idea of something

Phantasmagoria

a fantastic or dreamlike sequence of real or imagined images

Atonement

making amends or fixing something wrong, often to restore a relationship or bring forgiveness.

Tautologies

Statement that proves itself

Paradisiacal

Refers to ideas, states, or conditions that evoke the qualities of a paradise/ a state of ideal perfection, peace, harmony, and bliss.

Tabula Rasa

Blank slate

cyclical

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

totemism

refers to the study and interpretation of the symbolic and social role of totems/objects, animals, plants, or other entities revered as spiritual emblems by a group or society.

Paradox

A statement claiming something which goes beyond (or against) the ‘common opinion”

A statement that seems to contradicts itself

Hylomorphism

Belief that all material objects consist of both matter and form

Explains the nature of substance

Transcendental Idealism

Truth is the synthetic product of human logic

Claim that all empirical objects, objects in space and time, are mind-dependent and that we cannot cognize the mind-independent world.

Causal Theory of Perception

Emphasizes the importance of the causal relationship between the perceiver and the world

According to this theory, perception occurs when an object directly causes the perceiver to see it.

Plato’s Theory of Forms

Plato suggests that the world we live in is a world of appearances but the real world is a world of ideas that he calls Forms.

A form is unchanging because it is a concept, it is not a physical object that copy the form, the form is everlasting.

Aristotle’s 4 Causes

Primary Qualities

Secondary Qualities

Brain in a Vat

Brain hooked up to a computer (Thought experiment)

Noumenal Reality

The world beyond our perceptions

Skepticism

Questioning the possibility of knowledge

Constructivism

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

Synthetic A Priori

Knowledge which is a priori but can be applied to experience

Copernican Revolution

An entirely new method of viewing reality

Intrinsic

Having one's nature in ones own self

Secondary Qualities

Properties of smell color odor taste

Ontology

Having to do with the nature of being

Speculation

To wonder and think of various possibilities and outcomes

Primary Qualities

Properties of motion, size, volume, number

Flux

Perpetual change in motion

Systematic

Done or acting according to a fixed plan or method

Anthropomorphic

To be shown or related in human form

Epistemology

Study of Knowledge

Phenomenology

Philosophical movement that studies the structures of experience and consciousness from the first-person lived perspective