Glossary of Terms Flashcards
Aesthetics - the branch of philosophy dealing with the nature and expression of beauty
A priori - something that is known to be true or false, before it is experienced.
Cosmology - the study of the universe or cosmos
Determinism - the belief that any event is the inevitable outcome of specific preceding causes
Dualism - the belief that reality consists of 2 basic elements e.g. mind and body
Empiricism - the notion that it is only possible to determine whether anything is true or not through actual experience.
Epistemology - the branch of philosophy that concerns itself with the nature of knowledge, so establishing if there are any limits to human understanding
Essence - that qualities that make something what it is rather than anything else.
Ethics - the philosophical examination of human values.
Existentialism - a relatively modern philosophical movement that starts from he assumption that all people possess complete freedom of choice and are therefore personally responsible for what they make of themselves.
Free will - the belief that all human beings are free to determine their own actions.
Idealism - the view that the world does not exist independently of the human mind.
Libertarianism - a political philosophy whose advocates press for the greatest possible degree of freedom for individuals and the consequent minimisation of state interference in individual life.
Logic - the branch of philosophy concerned with rational argument, focusing on the structure of propositions and the principles of deductive reasoning.
Materialism - only material things exist.
Naturalism - the belief that reality can be understood without reference to anything outside or beyond the natural world.
Ontology - the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of being.
Phenomenology - reality is relative and subjective; objects have no independent existence.
Rationalism - the view that reason is the fundamental source of all knowledge.
Realism - the belief that universals have an independent existence outside the mind and that the essence of all things exists objectively in nature.
Relativism - the theory that there are no objective standards that can be applied to knowledge, truth and moral principles. Everything is influenced by their historical or cultural context.
Scepticism - the belief that it is impossible to know anything for certain.
Solipsism - the belief that only the self can exist (non-formal use: the quality of being self-centred or selfish)
Sophist - the belief that only the self can be said to exist
Stoicism - a school of philosophy, which held that human happiness could only be achieved by accepting good and bad fortune with equanimity.
Utilitarianism - an ethical theory which holds that society should aim for the greatest number and that ‘good’ should be defined in terms of pleasure and the absence of pain.
