Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Philosophy > Key Words > Flashcards

Key Words Flashcards

1
Q

Analytic

A

Describes the manner in which a proposition is true. It is true by definition - all bachelors are unmarried

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Anti-realism

A

If you are a realist about something you believe it exists independently of our minds. If you are anti realist about something you believe it is mind dependent. Eg epistemology - anti realists about perception believe that material objects exist only in the mind

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

A posteriori

A

Describes a belief that can only be known via experience eg. Snow is white

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

A priori

A

Describes knowledge that is known prior/independently from experience

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Argument

A

A series of propositions intended to support an argument

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Atemporal

A

Outside of time - no past, present or future

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Agent

A

A being who is capable of action, they have the capacity to reason, make a choice between to courses of action, then do what they have chosen

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

benevolence

A

the desire and disposition to good for others

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Clear and distinct ideas

A

the basic/self justifying beliefs that Descartes hopes to use as foundations for his system f knowledge. They are ideas that can be intuited in the mind by what he calls the ‘light of reason’ i.e. the truths of reason that can be known in the mind alone. e.g. logic or maths

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

cognitivism

A

a position in philosophy of language which holds that judgements must be true or false if they are to mean anything.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Non cognitivism

A

the position in philosophy of language that statements can be meaningful even if they do not refer to the world and the concepts of truth and falsity do not apply to them

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Coherentism

A

a view about the structure of justification which claims that no beliefs are foundational and therefore that all beliefs need justification in terms of further beliefs. Beliefs are more or less well justified to the extent that they fit in or cohere with otters beliefs in the system

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

concept

A

Having a concept is what enables us to recognise it, distinguish it from other things and think about it

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Contingent

A

A contingent truth happens to be true, but may have not been. A truth that could logically be false.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Corporeal

A

made of matter

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Cosmological arguments

A

argue for the existence of god by claiming that there must be some ultimate cause or reason for the existence of the universe.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Deductive argument

A

Where the conclusion is guaranteed in the truth of the premises. If one accepts the premises, they must by logic also accept the conclusion.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Dualism

A

the claim that humans are made of two kinds of stuff - a material body and a spiritual mind

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Empiricism

A

An epistemological position which holds that our beliefs and knowledge must be based on experience.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Eschatological

A

eschatology is the study of the ‘end of things’ or the ‘last things’ as described from a religious perspective - including death, what happens after we die, the end of time etc. (used to show that religious statements can be meaningful as they can be verified if true)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Euthyphro dilemma

A

In what way are God’s commands good?

  1. whatever god commands is good. (so command to commit genocide is fabulous)
  2. God’s commands are good because they conform to some external moral law - (so we should pay attention to the moral law not God)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Evil

A

Moral evil - by humans

natural evil - brought about by natural events

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Evolution

A

Darwin - organisms gradually change over time according to changes in their environment and genetic mutations, some mutations lead to traits which are better suited to the environment and these more successful organisms have offspring that also survive and reproduce.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Factual significance

A

statement has this if it tells us something about the real world - verificationism maintain that a sentence is only meaningful if it has factual significance

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

Fallacy

A

argument which is flawed because either a mistake has been made or because has a form or structure which is always invalid

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

Falsificationism

A

claims that for a proposition to be meaningful we must be able to understand what would count as proving the proposition false

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

foundationalism

A

A view about the structure of justification which claims that there are two sorts of belief - those which are basic or foundational and which require no justification and those which are built on top of the foundations and justified in terms of them

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

Free will

A

also known as metaphysical freedom. The idea of free will is that the self controls aspects of its own life such a bodily movement.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

determinism

A

opposite of free will - all events in the universe are the necessary consequence of physical laws, these laws apply to human actions as well. May argue that humans are like complex pieces of biological machinery with no real freedom of will

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

Holy

A

Used to encapsulate everything that is special. sacred about god

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

idealism

A

Anti - realist theory of perception. Put forward by Berkeley, the view that matter does not exist independently of the mind and that all that exists are minds and their ideas. Physical objects are just collections of sensations appearing in our minds. Objects not currently being perceived are sustained in existence by being perceived in the mind of God

32
Q

Immanent `

A

to say god is immanent is to say that God continues to be present in and exist in his creation

33
Q

Immaterial

A

not made of matter

34
Q

Immutable

A

Something that can never change

35
Q

Incorrigible

A

It cannot be corrected or changed. eg. Beliefs about our own sense data are often thought to be incorrigible as there appears to be no way in which i can be mistaken about my own experiences.

36
Q

Indirect realism

A

The view that the immediate objects of perception are sense data or representations and that the physical world is perceived only indirectly via these representations

37
Q

Indubitable

A

Not doubtable

38
Q

Inductive argument

A

Argument where the truth of the conclusion is not fully guaranteed by the truth of the premises.
Every raven i have seen is black
so all ravens are black

39
Q

Infallibilism

A

The claim that we should only count as knowledge those ideas that cannot be doubted.

40
Q

inference

A

the move in an argument from the premises to the conclusion.

41
Q

Infinite regress

A

A regress is a process of reasoning from effect to cause, or of going backwards in a chain of explanations. So a infinite regress is one where the process never stops and is repeated endlessly. Generally considered problematic in a philosophical argument

42
Q

Innate ideas

A

Ideas that exist in the mind which are not acquired from experience. Rationalists often use the doctrine of innate ideas to explain the possibility of a priori knowledge.

43
Q

Intelligent design

A

some things are irreducibly complex - only the existence of an intelligent designer (God) can explain them

44
Q

Intuition

A

A kind of mental seeing by which rational truths can be recognised.

45
Q

Justification

A

The support or grounds for holding a belief, which gives someone a reason for believing it. Necessary for knowledge

46
Q

Knowledge

A

practical knowledge
Knowledge by acquaintance
Factual knowledge
JTB

47
Q

Lemma

A

A subsidiary belief or proposition used to justify or prove another belief/proposition

48
Q

Materialism

A

The view that everything in the world is made of matter and that ultimately all mental or apparently spiritual entities can be given purely a material explanation

49
Q

Metaphysics

A

Metaphysics is concerned with determining what sorts of things really exist where the world comes from etc.

50
Q

Direct realism

A

Common sense view of how perception works.
Physical objects have an independent existence in space, they follow the laws of physics and possess certain properties. When humans are in the presence of such objects they are able to perceive them along with all their properties

51
Q

Necessary

A

Necessary truth is one that has to be true and could not be otherwise. true in all possible worlds

52
Q

Necessary / contingent being

A

Contingent being is one that depends on something else .

Necessary being is one that does not depend upon anything else for its existence

53
Q

Necessary / contingent truths

A

Necessary - logically impossible to be false

Contingent - the opposite is logically impossible

54
Q

necessary / sufficient condition

A

A is a necessary condition for B - you have to have A in order to have B, if you do not have B you do not have B
A is a sufficient condition for B, when you have A you must have B too so having A is enough or sufficient to guarantee you have B

55
Q

Ontological arguments

A

Ontology - study of existence

ontological argument is particular proof of Gods existence

56
Q

Pantheism

A

The view that God is the same thing as the universe itself

57
Q

Paradox

A

An apparently contradictory statement or one which goes against common sense opinion

58
Q

Pereception

A

The process by which we become aware of physical objects incl. our own body

59
Q

Predicate

A

Statements can be divided into subject and predicate - the thing about the subject is the predicate - gives us info about the subject

60
Q

Premise

A

Any reason given

61
Q

Primary and secondary qualities

A

indirect realism says physical objects have primary (eg. size and shape) and secondary qualities ( Colour and taste)

62
Q

proposition

A

A sentence that makes a claim about the way the world actually is. Can be true or false

63
Q

Rationalism

A

The tendency to regard reason as apposed to sense experience as the primary source of important knowledge.

64
Q

Realism

A

Belief that things exist independently of our minds

65
Q

Reason

A

The process by which we are able to discover the truth of things by pure thought by inferring conclusions from premises.

66
Q

reductio ad absurdem

A

Prove a claim is false by first supporting it to be true and then drawing out the logical consequences - if absurd or false - first statement is false

67
Q

Reliablism

A

theory of knowledge that claims that the reliability of the process involved in generating a belief is the key factor in whether we should call it knowledge or not - Knowledge = Truth + Belief + Produced by a reliable process

68
Q

Scepticism

A

raises doubts about our claims to now. It’s purpose is to distinguish between which type of belief can be treated as known and which cannot. It tests our first knowledge claims.

69
Q

Sensations

A

The subjective experience we have as a consequence of perceiving physical objects unloading our own bodies, such as the experience of smelling a rose or feeling hungry.

70
Q

sense data

A

What one is directly aware of in perception. The subjective elements which constitute experience.

71
Q

Solipsism

A

the view that all that can be known to exist is my own mind. seen as a sceptical trap into which certain ways of thinking can lead to.

72
Q

Teleological

A

telos - purpose, goal or end. teleological expel is a way of accounting for events by reference to their purpose or ultimate goal. Refers to the purpose or the event instead of just the physical factors leading up to the event

73
Q

Theodicy

A

The attempt to justify God’s actions and why a perfect God may have created an imperfect world.

74
Q

Theology

A

The study or God from a religious perspective

75
Q

Transcendent

A

To be outside, beyond, or removed from something. To say God is transcendent is to say he exists outside his creation

76
Q

Verificationism

A

a philosophical belief about the nature of meaning. Logical positivism claims that for a proposition to be meaningful it must be verifiable or true by definition.

77
Q

Verification principle

A

the rule put forward by verificationists that a statement can only be meaningful if it can be shown to be true empirically of it’s true by definition.

Philosophy (19 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions