key terminology Flashcards
(23 cards)
a posteriori
a latin term that describes a belief that can only be known via experience of the world; eg. that ‘snow is white’ or that ‘the Atlantic is smaller than the Pacific’. a posteriori beliefs are contrasted with a priori beliefs
a priori
a latin term that describes knowledge that is known prior to or independently from experience. eg. ‘1,000,000 + 1 = 1,000,001’ can be known independently of counting a million apples, adding one, and then recounting them. a priori beliefs are contrasted with a posteriori beliefs, which are ones derived from experience
analytic/synthetic
a term that describes the manner in which a proposition is true. an analytic truth is a proposition that is true in virtue of the meanings of the words alone. in other words, an analytic truth is one that is true by definition. eg. ‘a bachelor is an unmarried man’. analytic truths are contrasted with synthetic truths - truths that cannot be determined simply by analysing the meanings of the terms used. eg. ‘all bachelors have the use of at least one kidney’ is a synthetic truth
antecedent/consequent
a hypothetical proposition has the form ‘if x then y’ eg. ‘if trump builds a wall, then mexico will pay for it’. part x of a hypothetical propostion ‘trump builds a wall’, is called the antecedent, and part y ‘mexico will pay for it’, is the consequent
assertion/claim/proposition
a sentence that makes a claim about the way the world actually is eg. ‘there is a cat on my mat’ or ‘i am thinking about a dragon’. like a belief, a propostion can be true or false. other sentences can play different roles eg. ‘sit down now’ or ‘what are you looking at?’ - such sentences do not make specific claims about the way the world is, and hence are not propostions
consistent/inconsistent
two or more beliefs or claims are said to be consistent if they can all be true at the same time. if they cannot all be true, then they are said to be inconsistent. a belief can also be said to be consistent with itself as long as it is possible for it to be true. an inconsistent belief is one that cannot be true because it is self-contradictory
contingent
a contingent truth is one which happens to be true, but which may not have been. in other words, it is a truth for which it is logically possible to be false. the opposite of a contingent truth is a necessary one, that is, one which has to be true and could not be otherwise, it is logically impossible for it to be false. eg ‘daffodils are yellow’ - contingent truth - they might have been blue
dilemma
in ethics, a moral dilemma is any situation that an agent faces where there is a difficulty chooosing between two or more courses of action. this difficulty arises when there are moral reasons for both choosing and not choosing a course of action. it also arises when there are moral reasons against all courses of action, but where a choice has to be made
false
a term used of beliefs and propositions. a false belief is one which is not true. one account of what makes a belief or a proposition false is that it fails to correspond with the facts. eg. the belief that humans are decended from apes will be false if they are in fact decended from dolphins
justification
the support or grounds for holding a belief, which gives someone a reason for believing it or makes them justified in believing it. the process of justifying a belief is by offering evidence. the traditional analysis of knowledge sees justification as necessary for knowledge
necessary/contingent truths
‘necessary’ and ‘contingent’ are opposing terms. in the most restricted sense, a necessary truth is one which has to be true and could not be otherwise. another way of thinking about a necessary truth is as a truth where the opposite is logically impossible; eg. a triangle has three sides. a contingent truth is one which just happens to be true, and the opposite is logically possible eg. Keir Starmer is the PM
objective/subjective
objectivity concerns the way things really are. subjectivity is the way they seem to a mind. a judgement or perception may be termed subjective if it is made by a particular mind. this usage often denotes the fact that this judgement or perception need not be accurate because it may not reflect the way things are beyond the mind. but if a judgement or perception is objective, this means that is does reflect the way objects really are independently of the person perceiving or making the judgement.
paradox
in philosophical terms, a paradox is a contradictory, or apparently contradictory, statement. eg. ‘this sentence is false’ is a paradox. at first sight, we seem to have only two options; either the sentence is true or it is false. if it is true, then it appears as if the sentence must be false. but if it is false, then it appears as if the sentence must be true. paradoxes can emerge because there is a serious issue with the concepts we are talking about, or the logical or linguistic framework that we are using
proof/prove
the word ‘proof’ can be used to refer to any argument that establishes the truth of its conclusion. and to prove a conclusion is just to establish its truth by a process of reasoning. a proof is a sound argument - a deductive argument with true premises. because its premises are true and its reasoning valid, the conclusion of a sound argument or proof must be true
sound argument/proof
a deductive argument with true premises
tautology
a sentence that is true by definition. eg. ‘all bachelors are unmarried.’ ‘all squares have four sides’
true
a term used of beliefs and propositions. there are different theories of what makes a belief or proposition true. the correspondence theory of truth says that beliefs and propositions are true when they correspond with the facts, when what they say about the world is the case
abduction
`an abductive argument is one that proceeds from an effect to argue for the most likely cause
anti-realism
anti-realists about things believe those things are mind-dependent. closely connected with non-cognitivism. eg. anti-realists about perception think that material objects exist only for minds and that a mind-independent world is non-existent
apt belief
a belief is an apt one if it is a true one, and is a true one because of the cognitive skill of the believer - Ernest Sosa
argument
an argument is a series of propositions intended to support a conclusion. the propositions offered in support of the conclusion are termed premises
belief
a state of mind or thought which is about the world. it is a mental representation which claims that something is the case, or that a proposition is true
