Unit 3

Question 1

noumena

Answer 1

According to Kant, the “thing in itself” or real world, as opposed to the world of appearance

Question 2

law of noncontradiction

Answer 2

A proposition cannot be both true and false at the same time in the same sense.

Question 3

objectivism

Answer 3

The belief that there are external objects outside mere states of consciousness

Question 4

ontological argument

Answer 4

The argument devised by Anselm for God’s existence which claims that from our idea of God’s essence we can conclude God must exist.

Question 5

ontology

Answer 5

The study of being.

Question 6

pantheism

Answer 6

The worldview which denies God’s transcendence and identifies God with His immense in the universe.

Question 7

parapsychology

Answer 7

The field of scientific study which purports to examine phenomena which cannot be explained by conventional theories of psychology.

Question 8

phenomenology

Answer 8

A philosophical movement which attempts to avoid all presuppositions and begin with the pure data of human consciousness.

Question 9

phenomena

Answer 9

According to Kant, the world of appearance, as opposed to reality

Question 10

pluralism

Answer 10

The metaphysical view that reality is many

Question 11

polytheism

Answer 11

The belief in many gods.

Question 12

positivism

Answer 12

The philosophy which repudiates metaphysics and attempts only a scientific understanding of the world.

Question 13

pragmatism

Answer 13

The philosophy which makes practical consequences the criterion for truth.

Question 14

privation

Answer 14

The lack of some good quality which ought to exist in an object. (e.g., sight of man)

Question 15

proposition

Answer 15

The meaning conveyed by a sentence. Some philosophers claim that a proposition is identical with a sentence.

Question 16

rationalism

Answer 16

The epistemological view that stresses reason or rational explanations. Uses reason as a determinative principle, sometimes in opposition to empirical data.

Question 17

reincarnation

Answer 17

The belief that the soul after death passes on to another body.

Question 18

relativism

Answer 18

The belief that there are no absolutes; that the truth and/or value of a proposition are relative to that of other propositions.

Question 19

samsara

Answer 19

The continual cycle of rebirth.

Question 20

self-defeating (self-stultifying)

Answer 20

Any statement which presumes, either in its content or in the act of affirmation, the opposite of what it attempts to affirm.

Question 21

skepticism

Answer 21

The belief that one should doubt or suspend judgment on philosophical questions.

Question 22

solipsism

Answer 22

Metaphysically, the doctrine that “I alone exist.” Epistemologically, the view that one knows only himself, nothing more.

Question 23

specified complexity

Answer 23

Any pattern which is diverse and ordered so that it carries information (e.g., human language, DNA)

Question 24

subjectivism

Answer 24

In ethics, the belief that there are no objective, universal principles of conduct. In epistemology, the view that a statement is only true when considered to be true by an individual.

Question 25

substance

Answer 25

According to Aristotle, the underlying essence; that in which all qualities of a thin inhere.

Question 26

sufficient reason

Answer 26

The principle (from Leibniz) that everything must have a rational explanation or cause.

Question 27

syllogism

Answer 27

A concise deductive argument, consisting of two premises and a conclusion.

Question 28

syncretism

Answer 28

The reconciliation or union of conflicting beliefs.

Question 29

panentheism

Answer 29

The worldview which holds that “all is in God”; God is to the world as a soul is to the body.