Words of Interest Flashcards
Concrete Terms
Are terms that refer to objects or events that are available to the five senses. The meaning of concrete terms are pretty stable because they can be measured, weighed, felt, shown, etc.
example terms: spoon, table, velvet eye patch, nose ring, green, hot, walking
Abstract Terms
Refers to ideas or concepts; they have no physical referents. In order to make the meaning of abstract language clearer, examples are of upmost importance.
example terms: love, success, freedom, good, moral, democracy, and any -ism (chauvinism, feminism, racism, sexism)
Even thought an abstract term is familiar to us because we may recognize the word, it is still extremely challenging to fully understand it because the meaning won’t stay still.
If one says “love is good”, you’ll probably assume you understand, and even be inclined to agree with them. You may change your mind, though, if you realized that they meant “prostitution should be legalized”.
How about freedom? The word is familiar enough, but if one says, “I want freedom”, what are they talking about? do they want divorce, self-employment, summer vacation, their own car, looser pants? The meaning of freedom won’t sit still.
Abstract Thinking
A matter of thinking in which concentration is on conceptualization or generalization of a certain thing. Involves an emphasis on the hidden or the intended meaning. Requires much more analysis and goes deeper than what is visibly present. Mental process which explores the ideas and multiple meanings beyond what is physically visible.
Concrete Thinking
Involves exploring facts and descriptions about everyday, tangible objects or facts. It is literal, to-the-point, and very direct, allowing any individual to observe and understand. Focuses on the things that are visible to the human eye and are obvious enough to anybody who is inspecting the subject matter.
Executive Functions
also called cognitive control is an umbrella term for the management (regulation, control) of cognitive processes, including memory, reasoning, task flexibility, and problem solving as well as planning and execution.
Logical Thinking
A matter of organizing and manipulating information. Problems and situations that involve logical thinking call for structure, for relationship between facts, and for chains of reasoning that “make sense”.
The logical thinker has had opportunities to master certain basic mental procedures that work well in a broad variety of situations, and has been rewarded in different ways for using these mental processes successfully. They see challenges as another opportunity for a bit of a mental excercise, in addition to a problem in need of resolution. Just as a person who enjoys playing tennis responds positively to being handed a tennis raquet, so a person who enjoys clear, logical thought responds positively to being handed a situation that calls for analysis.p
Sequential Thought
A mental skill involving the ability to take poorly organized statement of a situation and arrange it in the form of a sequential chain of statements and mathematical operations that will produce the solution. It is the basis of all logical thinking. To think logically is to think in steps.
One can drastically improve their sequential thinking ability by adopting the seven basic logical tactics: stepping, picturing, rephrasing, fencing, itemizing, chaining, and jumping the track.
General and Specific Terms
General terms refer to groups; specific terms refer to individuals - but not exclusively. The terms are not opposites, as concrete and abstract terms are; instead they are the different ends of a range of terms.
example: furniture –> chair –> rocking chair –> green velvet rocking chair –> green velvet La-Z-Boy rocker recliner –> green velvet La-Z-Boy rocker recliner with a cup holder on the left arm
Cognitive Flexibility
the mental ability to switch between thinking about two different concepts, and to think about multiple concepts simultaneously. It is a vital component of learning and related to fluid intelligence.
Mnemonic
any learning technique that aids information retention. Mnemonics aim to translate information into a form that the brain can retain better than its original form. Even the process of merely learning this conversion might already aid in the transfer of information to long-term memory. Commonly encountered mnemonics are often used for lists and in auditory form, such as short poems, acronyms, or memorable phrases, but mnemonics can also be used for other types of information and in visual or kinesthetic forms.
Macrocosm
the very large; the totality
Microcosm
the very small; the individual units which comprise the whole
Mental Law of Neutralization
A formula/method used by Hermetics who have grasped the Principles (i.e. Polarity, Rhythm, Cause & Effect) by finding their universal applications and are able to overcome, counteract, or neutralize their effects on themselves.
Mastery of the Principle
Used to describe the degree one has over the Hermetic Priciples such as Polarity and Rhythm. One cannot annul the Principles, or cause them to cease their operations, but they can learn to escape their effects upon themselves to a certain degree depending on their Mastery of the Principle.
Disposition
- the usual attitude or mood of a person or animal
- a tendency to act or think in a particular way
- prevailing tendency, mood, or inclination
Solipsism
summary: The ideology that only one’s own mind is sure to exist. Solipsists contend that knowledge of anything outside one’s own mind is unsure, hence there is no objective truth, and nothing about the external world and it’s workings can actually be known.
- Philosophy. the theory that only the self exists, or can be proven to exists.
- extreme preoccupation with and indulgence of one’s feelings, desires, etc.; egoistic self-absorption.
Failure Reflex/Avoidance Reaction
A snap-reaction to avoid a situation seen as threatening, uncomfortable, dreadful, or unpleasant. The reaction can be traced to past experiences of having been defeated by situations similar to the one presenting itself.
Just as the person who is in very poor physical condition tends to get negative feelings at the prospect of playing tennis, so the person who has trouble with logical thinking tends to shudder at the anticipation of a round of logical thought.ñ
Ego
noun, plural: egos.
- the “I” or self of any person; a person as thinking, feeling, and willing, and distinguishing itself from the selves of others and from objects its thought.
- Psychoanalysis. the part of the psychic apparatus that experiences and reacts to the outside world and thus mediates between the primitive drives of the id and the demands of the social and physical environment (superego).
- egotistic; conceit; self-importance: “Her ego becomes more unbearable each day.”
- self-esteem or self-image; feelings: “your criticism wounded his ego.”
- Philosophy. a. the enduring and conscious element that knows experience.
b. Scholasticism. the complete person comprising both body and soul. - Ethnology. a person who serves as the central reference point in the study of organizational and kinship relationships.
Dogma
noun (pl) -mas, -mata
- a religious doctrine or system of doctrines proclaimed by ecclesiastical authority as true
- a belief, principle, or doctrine or a code of beliefs, priciples, or doctrines
word origin and history
n.
c.1600 (in plural dogmata), from Latin dogma “philosophical tenet,” from Greek dogma (genitive dogmatos) “opinion, tenet,” literally “that which one thinks is true,” from dokein “to seem good, think”
It serves as part of the primary basis of an ideology or belief system, and it cannot be changed or discarded without affecting the very system’s paradigm, or the ideology itself.
