Philosophy isn’t easy. Beginning with logic and continuing in more depth includes the use of a lot of new words, or different and more precise uses of words we might already know. I have compiled Philosophy Words and Terms Defined.
Philosophy Words and Terms Defined
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- Absolute defined: Something that is completely true or correct, without any exceptions.
- Absolutism: the belief that there are absolute truths and moral principles that apply at all times and in all situations.
- Abstract defined: A concept or idea that is not concrete or physical.
- Acquaintance: knowing someone or something by sight or from a brief meeting.
- Adequate: enough for a particular purpose or need.
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- Aggression: Acting in a hostile or violent way. A deliberate and unprovoked attack.
- Altruism: the belief in and practice of helping others without expecting anything in return. Consideration for other people without any thought of self as a principle of conduct.
- Altruistic: concerned with or seeking the welfare of others. Unselfishness.
- Ambition: a strong desire to achieve something.
- Anti-Subjectivism defined:
- Argument defined: A reason or set of reasons given to support or prove something.
- Atom defined: The smallest unit of matter that still has all the properties of an element.
- Autonomy: the ability to make one’s own decisions and control one’s own actions.
- Belief defined: Something that someone thinks is true, even if they don’t have proof.
- Benevolence: an act of kindness or generosity.
- Benevolence: the disposition to do good.
- Benevolent: wishing well or showing kindness to others.
- Binary opposition: the idea that two concepts or things are mutually exclusive and cannot exist together.
- Bivalent logic: a type of logic that only allows for two truth-values, true or false
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- Capitalism defined: A humanitarian economic and moral ideology in which property ownership and means of production are individually owned and operated for private profit. A system of voluntary interaction.
- Caring: feeling concern or interest for something or someone.
- Cause defined: The reason why something happens.
- Certainty defined: Knowing something is true without any doubt.
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- Character defined: The total quality of a person’s behavior, as revealed in his habits of thought and expression, his attitudes and interests, his actions, and his personal philosophy of life.
- Character: the moral or ethical qualities of a person.
- Choice defined: Deciding between two or more options.
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- Citizen defined: A legal member of a community or country.
- Civil defined: Having to do with the laws and government of a society.
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- Civil rights defined: The rights to personal liberty, established by a government.
- Compassion: feeling concern or empathy for others.
- Concept defined: An idea or notion.
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- Conscience: Knowledge of one’s own acts as right or wrong.
- Consciousness defined: Being aware of oneself and the world around you. Mental activity including emotion and thought.
- Consciousness: the state of being aware of and able to think and perceive.
- Consequence defined: The result or outcome of an action or decision.
- Consequentialism: the belief that the morality of an action should be based on its consequences.
- Constitution defined: The set of laws and principles that govern a country or organization.
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- Contract defined: An agreement, covenant, promise between people. Verbal or documented.
- Contradiction: a statement that cannot be true and false at the same time
- Courage defined: Being brave and not giving up in the face of fear or danger.
- Courage: the ability to face fear, danger, or pain.
- Crime defined: An act that is against the law.
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- Culture defined: The social and religious structures and intellectual and artistic manifestations, etc. that characterize a society.
- Cynicism defined: A belief that people are only motivated by self-interest.
- Decency: conforming to a standard of what is morally right or honorable.
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- Democracy defined: Also called, “Mob Rule” it is type of government where those in power set up a system in which a limited number of choices are offered to the masses, and after selected one of the offered solutions, the masses are persuaded that they freely chose the result.
- Deontology: the belief that the morality of an action should be based on a moral rule or duty.
- Dependence defined: Being reliant on someone or something for support.
- Determinism defined: The belief that everything that happens is caused by something else.
- Dialectic defined: A method of critical thinking and debate.
- Dialetheism defined: the belief that some statements can be both true and false
- Dialetheism defined: the belief that some statements can be both true and false at the same time.
- Difference defined: Being not the same as something else.
- Dignity defined: The quality of being worthy of respect.
- Duty defined: Something that someone is required to do.
- Duty defined: an action that is morally or legally required.
- Egoism defined: the belief that people should act in their own self-interest.
- Either/or defined: the idea that a choice must be made between two options and that only one can be chosen.
- Emotion defined: A feeling or mental state.
- Empathy defined: Being able to understand and share the feelings of others.
- Empathy defined: the ability to understand and share the feelings of others.
- Enlightenment defined: A state of understanding or knowledge.
- Equality defined: The concept of things being the same. No two things in the world are completely the same if examined at a microscopic level. This word has become a fallacy when used in a post-modern marxist manner.
- Equality defined: Treating everyone the same, regardless of who they are.
- Ethical: concerning moral principles or rules of behavior, having to do with right and wrong behavior.
- Ethics defined: The study of what is right and wrong.
- Evidence defined: Proof or information that supports a claim.
- Evolution defined: The process by which different species change over time.
- Ex contradictione quodlibet: a rule in logic that states from a contradiction, any statement can be derived
- Excluded middle defined: the idea that a statement must be either true or false and there is no middle ground.
- Excluded middle defined: the principle that a statement must be either true or false, with no middle ground
- Experience defined: The knowledge or understanding that comes from doing something.
- Fairness: impartiality and honesty.
- Fairness: treating others justly and equitably.
- Faith defined: Believing in something without logical, rational or scientific proof.
- False dilemma: the idea that only two options exist when in fact there are more.
- Falsum: a statement that is false
- Fate defined: The idea that everything is predetermined.
- Feelz defined:
- Forgiveness: the act of pardoning an offender.
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- Freedom defined: The enjoyment of personal liberty, of not being a slave or prisoner. The ability to make choices without being constrained. Requires responsibility for the consequences of one’s actions.
- Friendship defined: A close relationship between two or more people. A voluntary support or help out of good will.
- Generosity: the quality of being kind and giving.
- Good defined: That which is morally right or desirable.
- Good: something that is morally right or desirable.
- Government defined: The organization that makes and enforces laws in a society.
- Gracious: polite and kind.
- Habit defined: A behavior that is repeated often and becomes automatic.
- Happiness defined: A state of being content or satisfied.
- Harmony defined: A state of balance or agreement.
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- Heaven defined: A mythical place that is believed to be the home of the Judæo Christian God.
- Hell defined: A place that is believed to be the home of punishment after death.
- Honesty: truthful and fair.
- Human nature defined: The innate characteristics that make people who they are.
- Identity defined: The qualities that make a person who they are.
- Illusion defined: Something that appears to be true, but is not real.
- Imagination defined: The ability to create mental images or ideas.
- Immortality defined: Living forever.
- Independence defined: Being able to do things on your own.
- Individual defined: A single person or thing.
- Individualism defined: The ideology that the individual has greater value than the group.
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- Injustice defined: A violation of justice, unfairness.
- Insight defined: A deep understanding or realization.
- Integrity defined: Being honest and having strong moral principles.
- Intellectual Consistency defined: Sticking to principles, even when the result is uncomfortable.
- Intelligence defined: The ability to learn, understand, and think critically.
- Intention defined: A plan or purpose.
- Intuitionistic logic: a type of logic that emphasizes the constructivist approach to the principles of reasoning, it allows for the concept of propositions being neither true nor false but undetermined.
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- Justice defined: Behavior to oneself or to another which is strictly in accord with currently accepted ethical law. Fairness to all. Law equally applied to all.
- Kantianism defined: a moral philosophy developed by Immanuel Kant, which holds that the morality of an action should be based on the principle of universality.
- Knowledge defined: Understanding or information about something.
- Law defined:
- Law of identity defined: the principle that something is the same as itself
- Law of non-contradiction defined: the principle that something cannot be both true and false at the same time
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- Logic defined: The science of pure reasoning. A sequence or way of reasoning or arguing.
- Logical absoluteness defined: the belief that some logical principles are universally and necessarily true
- Logical constructivism defined: the belief that some concepts or knowledge can only be formed by a process of constructive reasoning
- Logical positivism: a philosophy that holds that only statements that can be verified through empirical observation or logical proofs are meaningful
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- Love defined: A powerful emotion felt for another person manifesting itself in deep affection, devotion or sexual desire.
- Meaning defined: The purpose or significance of something.
- Meditation defined: A practice of focusing the mind for a period of time.
- Metaphysics defined: The branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of reality.
- Middle ground: a compromise or position that falls between two extremes.
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- Mind defined: The seat of consciousness, thought, feeling and will.
- Modal logic: a type of logic that deals with the concept of possibility and necessity
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- Morality defined: Conduct or attitude from the moral standpoint.
- Morality: the principles of what is right and wrong.
- Motive defined: The reason behind an action or decision.
- Nature defined: The physical world and all living things in it.
- Necessity defined: Something that is required or absolutely necessary.
- Negation: the opposite or denial of a statement or proposition
- Norms: rules or expectations for behavior within a society.
- Objective defined: A goal or aim.
- Observation defined: The act of watching or noticing something.
- Opinion defined: A belief or viewpoint about something.
- Order defined: A state of organization or arrangement.
- Ownership defined:
- Paraconsistent Logic defined: a type of logic that allows for the coexistence of contradictory statements, and it is used in some areas of mathematics and philosophy.
- Paradigm defined: A model or framework for understanding something.
- Paradox: a statement that contradicts itself
- Perception defined: The way we interpret and understand the world around us.
- Perfection defined: The state of being without flaws or errors.
- Perspective defined: The way someone sees or understands something.
- Philosophy defined: The study of knowledge, reality, and existence.
- Physics defined: The branch of science that deals with the nature of matter and energy.
- Politics defined: The study of how societies are governed.
- Potential defined: The possibility of something happening or being achieved.
- Power defined: The ability to control or influence others.
- Practice defined: Repeatedly doing something to improve or become skilled at it.
- Pragmatism defined: The belief that the usefulness or practicality of an idea is more important than its theoretical correctness.
- Prejudice defined: Having an unfair bias against someone or something.
- Principle defined: A fundamental belief or rule that guides behavior.
- Principle of bivalence: the belief that all statements must be either true or false
- Principle of bivalence: the idea that all statements must be either true or false.
- Principle of excluded middle defined: the belief that for any statement, it must be either true or false
- Principle defined: a fundamental belief or rule that guides behavior.
- Proof defined:
- Progress defined: Improvement or advancement.
- Property defined: Something that belongs to someone.
- Proportion defined: The relationship of one part to another or to the whole.
- Propositions: statements that can be either true or false.
- Proven defined: Confirmed or shown to be true.
- Purpose defined: The reason or intention behind something.
- Rational defined: able to think and make decisions using reason.
- Reality defined: The state of things as they actually exist.
- Reason defined: The ability to think and make logical conclusions.
- Reasoning: the process of thinking through and making logical conclusions.
- Redemption defined: The act of making up for a wrong or mistake.
- Reductionism: the belief that complex things can be explained by breaking them down into simpler parts.
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- REELS defined: A system of thinking and argument based on a the acronym for Reason, Empirical Evidence, Logic, Scientific method.
- Reflect defined: To think about something carefully.
- Reform defined: Improving or changing something.
- Relationship defined: The connection or association between two or more things.
- Relativism defined: the belief that truth and morality are relative to the individual or culture.
- Religion defined: A belief in a higher power or set of spiritual practices.
- Representation defined: the act of standing in for or speaking on behalf of something or someone else.
- Responsibility defined: Being accountable for one’s actions and decisions.
- Right: something that is morally correct or just.
- Rights defined: things that do not actually exist, but were once thought to be justly or morally due to a person or group.
- Science defined:
- Scientific methodology defined:
- Scepticism defined: the attitude of doubt or questioning of accepted beliefs.
- Self defined: the sense of one’s own identity.
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- Self-interest defined: when one acts in accordance with what they believe will be in their own best interest. It is not to satisfy one’s own desires and being prepared to sacrifice the feelings, needs, etc. of others in order to do so.
- Self-knowledge defined: the understanding of one’s own thoughts, feelings, and beliefs.
- Settled science defined:
- Skepticism defined: the attitude of doubt or questioning of accepted beliefs.
- Social contract defined: an agreement among members of a society to give up some individual freedom in exchange for protection and security provided by the government.
- Soul defined: the non-physical part of a person that is believed to exist after death.
- Space defined: the area or distance around, between, and within objects.
- Spirit defined: the non-physical part of a person that is believed to exist after death.
- State defined: the organization that makes and enforces laws in a society.
- Subjectivity defined: the belief that knowledge and truth are based on individual perception.
- Substance defined: the basic material or essence of something.
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- Symbol defined: something that represents or stands for something else.
- Sympathy defined: the ability to understand and share the feelings of others, even when you have not yourself experienced the same situation.
- System defined: a group of things working together as a whole.
- Taste defined: the sense of what is pleasurable or enjoyable.
- Tautology defined: a statement that is always true by definition.
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- Taxation defined: A form of extortion that governments codify as being legal and an exception to the moral rule of not initiating violence against another person’s property.
- Teleology defined: the belief that everything has a purpose or goal.
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- Theology defined: the study of the nature of gods and religions.
- Three-valued logic: a type of logic that allows for more than two truth-values such as true, false, and undefined.
- Time defined: the progression of events and the duration of those events.
- Trivalent Logic: a type of logic that allows for more than two truth-values.
- Trivialism: the belief that all statements are true or that there is no distinction between truth and falsehood
- Truth defined: the state of being in agreement with fact or reality.
- Truth-value defined: the property of a statement being either true or false.
- Unity defined: the state of being united or joined together.
- Universe defined: all of space and time and everything in it.
- Utilitarianism: the belief that the morality of an action should be based on its overall usefulness or benefit to society.
- Utility defined: the usefulness or practicality of something.
- Validity: the logical soundness of an argument or conclusion.
- Value defined: the worth or usefulness of something.
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- Values defined: Things subjectively chosen by individuals that each person finds to be of little or much worth and quality.
- Verification: the process of determining the truth or validity of a statement.
- Verificationism: the belief that the meaning of a statement is determined by the method of its verification or proof.
- Virtue defined: the quality of being morally good or right.
- Virtue: the quality of being morally good or right.
- Will defined: the ability to make decisions and control one’s actions.
- Wisdom defined: the ability to make good decisions and understand the world around you.
- Woke defined:
- Wonder defined: the feeling of being amazed or curious about something.
- World defined: the entirety of everything that exists.
- Worship defined: the act of showing reverence or devotion to a higher power.
- Wrong: something that is morally incorrect or unjust.
- Xenophobia defined: the fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners.
- Yearning defined: a strong desire or longing for something.
- Zen defined: a school of Buddhism that emphasizes meditation and the attainment of spiritual understanding.
- Zero defined: the absence of any quantity or value.