Unit 3 Flashcards
noumena
According to Kant, the “thing in itself” or real world, as opposed to the world of appearance
law of noncontradiction
A proposition cannot be both true and false at the same time in the same sense.
objectivism
The belief that there are external objects outside mere states of consciousness
ontological argument
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.
ontology
The study of being.
pantheism
The worldview which denies God’s transcendence and identifies God with His immense in the universe.
parapsychology
The field of scientific study which purports to examine phenomena which cannot be explained by conventional theories of psychology.
phenomenology
A philosophical movement which attempts to avoid all presuppositions and begin with the pure data of human consciousness.
phenomena
According to Kant, the world of appearance, as opposed to reality
pluralism
The metaphysical view that reality is many
polytheism
The belief in many gods.
positivism
The philosophy which repudiates metaphysics and attempts only a scientific understanding of the world.
pragmatism
The philosophy which makes practical consequences the criterion for truth.
privation
The lack of some good quality which ought to exist in an object. (e.g., sight of man)
proposition
The meaning conveyed by a sentence. Some philosophers claim that a proposition is identical with a sentence.
rationalism
The epistemological view that stresses reason or rational explanations. Uses reason as a determinative principle, sometimes in opposition to empirical data.
reincarnation
The belief that the soul after death passes on to another body.
relativism
The belief that there are no absolutes; that the truth and/or value of a proposition are relative to that of other propositions.
samsara
The continual cycle of rebirth.
self-defeating (self-stultifying)
Any statement which presumes, either in its content or in the act of affirmation, the opposite of what it attempts to affirm.
skepticism
The belief that one should doubt or suspend judgment on philosophical questions.
solipsism
Metaphysically, the doctrine that “I alone exist.” Epistemologically, the view that one knows only himself, nothing more.
specified complexity
Any pattern which is diverse and ordered so that it carries information (e.g., human language, DNA)
subjectivism
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.
