Glossary of Philosophical Terms
The Absolute
The opposite of relative, conditioned or dependent. The idea
of the absolute dates back to pre-Socratic times. For Plato,
the Ideal Forms were the absolute. For other philosophers
the idea has been associated with that of the Godhead.
Certain rationalist thinkers, such as Spinoza, held the
absolute to be an all encompassing principle and the true
source of all reality, as did the idealist philosophers (see
Idealism, most notably Hegel.
A priori
Something known to be true or false prior to experience. Its
opposite would be a posteriori, which is knowledge derived
from experience
Aesthetics
The branch of philosophy that deals with the nature and
expression of beauty, or in Kantian philosophy the branch
of metaphysics concerned with the laws of perception.
Agent
The self that acts, chooses, and decides as opposed to the
self that knows.
Agnostic
One who believes that God’s existence cannot be proven,
but doesn’t deny the possibility that God might exist.
Agnosticism
The belief that no proof can be given for the existence of
God, since the concept of God, like those of soul,
immortality, and first cause, lies beyond the reach of the
human mind, which can only know the world of natural
phenomena.
Analytic Philosophy
The philosophical approach following from the empiricism
of Locke and Hume, which emphasizes logic, attention to
language and simplicity of argument, and seeks to clarify
concepts, theories, ideas and methods. Many 20th century
American and British philosophers have taken this
approach, rather than pursuing the metaphysical
speculation and system building of Continental Philosophy.
Atheism
The absolute disbelief in and denial of the existence of a
God or gods.
Atomism
The theory of Democritus and Epicurus, among others,
which claims that the entire universe is composed of
minute, indivisible and indestructible particles.
Behaviorism
The branch of psychology, most radically developed and
advocated by B.F. Skinner, that focuses exclusively on
observable behavior, excluding all subjective phenomenon,
such as emotions, memories and motives.
Category
In philosophy, categories are the most basic group into
which things can be classified. A category, then, would be
an irreducible and fundamental concept that can be applied
to other concepts and objects. Aristotle and Kant each
attempted a definitive list of categories, which included
substance, relation, place, time, passion, and action, among
others.
Causality or causation
The connection between cause and effect, or the
relationship between two things when the first is perceived
as the cause of the second. Ordinarily, the relationship
between cause and effect seems inevitable. Nevertheless,
philosophers have asked why we think in terms of
causation, where the idea comes from, and when it is
correct to apply it.
Cognition
The forms of knowing and perceiving, such as attention,
memory reasoning, and perception (visual, aural, tactile), ;
through which we synthesize information,
Concept
In philosophy, concept can stand for an idea, a thought, the
form of a thought or even the meaning of a term, though
concept is largely used in its most general application. For
example, to have a concept of table means that one might
1) distinguish table from every other thing and 2) reason .
about tables in some way.
Cosmogony
The study of the origin and development of the universe.
Cosmology
The study of the whole universe as a totality of phenomena
in time and space.
Cynic
A member of a school of Ancient Greek philosophy, namely
Cynicism, wherein virtue was seen as the only good and
self-control as the only means of attaining virtue. Cynics
not only showed a complete disregard for pleasure, but also
expressed contempt for human affection, preferring to find
fault with most individuals for their lack of virtue.
Diogenes was perhaps the most renowned Cynic.
Deduction
A form of argument in which the conclusion logically and
necessarily follows from the premises, with the general
Ieading to the particular. An example would be, “If all
human beings are born, then Plato as a human being, must
have been born.” It is an agreed upon fact that deduction is
valid. Its opposite would be Induction.
Determinism
The view that whatever happens has to happen, for every
event is the inevitable, hence necessary outcome of its
specific, preceding causes, which themselves were the
necessary result of yet previous causes. The chain of cause
and effect might be seen as determined by God or the laws
of nature. In science, an entirely mechanistic view is
deterministic. In the Ancient World and in the Christian
idea of predestination, the idea of fate is thoroughly
deterministic. See Causality.
Dialectic
A Greek term originally used to describe the Socratic
method, according to which argument and reasoning took
the form of dialogue. For Hegel and Marx, dialectic is an
interpretive method whereby t}re contradiction between a
thesis and its antithesis is resolved into a synthesis that
includes elements from each of the opposing positions.
Dualism
The view that reality is made up of two fundamental and
fundamentally different elements, as opposed to monism‘
which perceives reality to be made up of only one
substance. The dualism of Descartes, perhaps the most
famous, advances the view that material substance and the
mind’s activity (thinking, reflecting, etc.) bear upon each
other but are separate, unlike and essentially distinct.
Empiricism
The view that sense experience is the only basis for true
knowledge. An Empiricist would doubt any statement
claiming truth regardless of experience.
Epicureanism
Named after the Greek philosopher Epicurus, this strain
moral philosophy advances the claim that pleasure, main
understood as the avoidance of pain by opting for
intellectual pleasure, needs to be understood as the basis:
leading an ethical life.
Epistemology
The branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of
Knowledge – with what and how we know and the limits of
human understanding.
Essence
The fundamental qualities that make something what it is
and not something else are what constitute its essence. In
other words, the essence of a dog is what makes it a dog
and not a cat or a horse. See also Universal.
Ethics or Moral Philosophy
The branch of philosophy that examines human values,
beginning with questions about how we should live and
act. Hence its focus on questions of conduct, duty,
responsibility, good and bad, right and wrong.
Existentialism
The modern philosophical view which takes the individual
human being, possessing free will and standing in an
absurd and meaningless world, as its starting point.
Existentialists argue for human responsibility and
Judgment in ethical matters, seeing the individual as the
Sole judge of his/her own actions, with human freedom
Understood precisely as the freedom to choose.
Free Will
The doctrine that human beings are free to control their
own actions, which are not determined by cause and effect,
God or fate. Its opposite is Determinism.
Hypothesis
A theory that is held to be true and seems like it might be
true until confirmed or proven wrong by empirical testing
or experience. An element belonging to the scientific
method.
Idealism
The philosophical view that the empirical world does not
exist independently of the human mind and hence can
be known according to our conceptions of it. Its opposite is
Materialism.
Induction
The opposite of deduction, induction moves from
individual instances to general principle. Unlike deduction,
induction does not lead to necessarily true results.
Instrumentalism
A pragmatic theory in which ideas, such as scientific
theories, are instruments that function as guides to action,
and serve to deal with problems in the real world. As such,
ideas do not give a true account of reality. Rather, their
validity and value are determined by their success in
enabling us to act, problem-solve, and predict outcomes.
Intuition
A form of direct, conceptual knowing that does not rely on
reason or derive directly from the senses. For example, as
human beings, we might be said to have an intuitive or
innate idea of God, the beautiful, or justice.
Logic
The branch of philosophy that examines the nature of
rational argument, focusing on the principles of reasoning,
the structure of propositions, and the methods and validity
of deductive reasoning.
Logical Positivism
The view that philosophy should be based on observation
and testing and that propositions are only meaningful to
the extent that they can be verified empirically’ It is
opposed to any type of metaphysical speculation.
Materialism
The view that only matter or material things actually exist.
In other words, there is nothing in existence other than
matter, one of the consequences of which is the
nullification of the possible existence of a God or gods.
Materialism is opposed to idealism, which holds the mind
to be generative of objective reality.
Metaphysics
The branch of philosophy concerned with first principles,
particularly being {ontology} and knowing (epistemology),
as well as with the ultimate nature of what exists. Central
to metaphysical speculation are all the traditional questions
of philosophy, such as: the origin of life, the nature of mind
and of reality, and the meaning of concepts such as time,
space, causation and free will, among others.
Methodology
The system of principles, practices and procedures that are
employed within a specific branch of knowledge. For
instance, while historical, philosophical and scientific
methodologies might converge, they largely differ from one
another.
Monism
The view that reality is a unified whole and that all existing
things follow from or can be described by a single concept
or system. As regards human beings and the relationship
between mind and body, in this view both would be seen
like entities, formed from the same substance. Its opposite
is dualism.
Mysticism
A belief in the existence of realities beyond intellectual or
perceptual apprehension that are germane to “being” and
directly accessibly through subjective experience. The
“One” of Plotinus would be an example of such a reality.
Natural Law
Laws considered “natural” in the sense of being derived
from nature and therefore seen as providing universal
moral standards that are binding. Natural law is often
associated with divine law with reason as arbiter. It’s
opposite is positive law, namely, the laws established by
particular societies. A good example of the concept of
natural law is given by the opening of “The Declaration of
Independence” of the United States of America:
“When in the Course of human events, it becomes
necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands
which have connected them with another, and to assume
among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal
station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God
entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind
requires that they should declare the causes which impel
them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident. that all men are
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Naturalism
The view that reality can be understood without resorting
to anything outside of or beyond nature to serve as an
explanatory principle.
Nominalism
The theory that universals are not real and existing in
world, but rather are words and names for phenomena.
Ontology
The branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of being.
Open Society
This term was first proposed by French philosopher Henri
Bergson and further developed by the Austrian philosopher
Karl Popper. Philosophically speaking, the concept of an
open societ5r is based on the recognition that people act on
imperfect knowledge and that no one possesses the ultimate
truth. Consequently, the best form of social organization
and government, as advanced by Popper, is a pluralistic
democracy characterized by the rule of law, a diversity of
opinion, a division of power and a market economy.
Pantheism
The doctrine that identifies God or gods with the forces and
workings of nature.
Phenomenology
The philosophical view introduced by Edmund Husserl
according to which objects are objects of experience rather
than independently existing entities. This approach aims to
explore the ways in which people conceive of and interpret
the world as they experience it. In this view, reality is
relative and subjective.
Phenomena
For Plato, things as perceived by the senses (versus
noumena, which are things as reflected upon by thought).
For Kant, the distinction between phenomena and noumena
was that between things as objects of experience and things
as they are in themselves, a state of being not accessible to
human reason.
Philosophy
Literally, “the Love of wisdom.” Traditionally, philosophy
was comprised of Metaphysics, Epistemology, and Logic.
Modern philosophy also encompasses political theory
ethics, aesthetics, and the philosophies of religion, science
and law. Most generally, philosophy might be described as
the rigorous, systematic analysis and critical examination
of such topics as reality, nature, time, causation, free will,
human beingness, reason, moral judgments, and
perception, among others.
Positivism
The theory introduced by Auguste Comte that limits
knowledge to what can be derived from observation and
comprehended within the bounds of science.
Pragmatism
A strain of empiricism, this view, founded by CS Pierce,
interprets truth in terms of its practical effects, and as such
might be seen as a theory of truth. When applied to science,
this view holds that the “truth” of a theory depends on
whether or not it works. William James took this approach
to ethical judgments and religious beliefs, measuring
“truth” in terms of the usefulness or benefit of a belief or
judgment to a person’s life.
Rationalism
The theory that reason is the fundamental source of
Knowledge and spiritual truth and that the exercise of
reason, rather than empiricism {sense-perception), authority
or revelation, provides the only valid basis for action and
belief.
Realism
Philosophically, the theory that universals exist
independently of the human mind and that the essences of
things are objectively given in nature.
Skepticism
The view that it is impossible to know anything with
certainty. Hence, absolute knowledge is unattainable and
doubt is central to human knowledge and experience.
Scholasticism
The theological and philosophical methods and systems of
Medieval Europe (12-l4th centuries), which aimed to
reconcile Christian thought with Aristotelianism.
Scientism
The theory that the investigative methods used in the
natural sciences should be applied in all fields of inquiry.
Semiotics
The study of signs and symbols.
Solipsism
The view that only the self can be known to exist.
Stoicism
The Greek school of philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium
around 308 BC. The Stoics believed that happiness lay in
accepting the law of the universe and advised equanimity
in the face of good and bad fortune alike. They held that
human beings would be happiest if they freed themselves
from passion and calmly accepted all occurrences as the
result of divine will.
Structuralism
The 20th century philosophical movement that has had a
great influence on anthropology, Linguistics and literary
criticism. Following Ferdinand de Saussure’s work in
linguistics, structuralists hold the view that objects should
not be investigated as independent entities, but rather as
systems of relations.
Tautology
A necessarily true statement, such as “red is red.”
Teleology
The study of final ends, from the perspective that there is a
purpose to life and the universe, and hence also some sort
of blueprint or overall design that makes all development
purposive and meaningful.
Theism
Most specifically the belief that a single personal God is
present in the world as well as transcendent.
Theology
The study of God and the nature of religious truth. Though
philosophy does not posit the existence of God, its
arguments and methods have nevertheless had a significant
influence on both natural and revealed theologies over the
centuries.
Transcendental
Something outside the world of sense experience. Neither
empiricists, nor pragmatists, nor existentialists believe in
anything transcendental, such as God or a separate sphere
of moral ideas.
Universal
A property belonging to each individual of a specific class
or a general concept that can be applied to all the members
of a group: for example, since all cold things instantiate
“coldness,” “coldness” would be the universal property of
all cold things. In the Middle Ages, philosophers who
believed that “coldness” existed in and of itself were called
“realists” (see Realism). Those who argued that such a
property did not actually exists were called ..nominalists”
[see Nominalism).
Utilitarianism
The ethical theory sketched out by Bentham and elaborated
by J.S. Mill, which argues for a morality based on actions
that lead to happiness. In this framework, an action that
leads to unhappiness would be morally wrong. What
follows from this is the view that society should aim for the
happiness of the greatest number.
Validity
A property of arguments. An argument is valid if its
conclusion is the necessary outcome of its premises, even if
the conclusion is false on account of a false premise. In
other words, an argument may be logically valid even if
conclusion is wrong.
Verifrability
The properly of a statement or proposition that allows us to
test, using empirical evidence, whether it is true or false. In
the 20th century many Logical Positivists and Empiricists
made verification a requirement of knowledge. However,
since few statements or even scientific laws are verifiable,
there were others who argued against verifiability as a
theory of proof and meaning.