Terms Used in Philosophy

Aesthetics is the branch of philosophy that studies art and beauty.

Albigenses, ["xlbI'dZensi:z] religious sect of France (12th–13th cent.), whose beliefs were similar in many ways to manichaeism. They were Christian heretics who believed in the coexistence of good and evil. They held that matter was evil and that Jesus only seemed to have a body. Ascetic and enthusiastic, they persisted despite papal opposition. The murder of a papal legate led Innocent III to declare (1208) the Albigensian Crusade, which was soon redirected toward political ends. In 1233 the Inquisition was formed to halt Albigensianism, and slowly over 100 years the movement died.

Baptism 1.A religious sacrament marked by the symbolic use of water and resulting in admission of the recipient into the community of Christians.2.A ceremony, a trial, or an experience by which one is initiated, purified, or given a name.3. A submergence in Spirit or purification by Spirit.

Conceptualism 1. The doctrine, intermediate between nominalism and realism, that universals exist only within the mind and have no external or substantial reality. 2. A school of abstract art or an artistic doctrine that is concerned with the intellectual engagement of the viewer through conveyance of an idea and negation of the importance of the art object itself.

Cosmology is the study of the physical universe.

Determinism is the doctrine that all events have causes and occur by necessity.

Dialectic in the philosophy of G. W. F. Hegel is a process of change brought about by the conflict of opposites. This conflict creates a new unity, called a synthesis. The synthesis, in turn, comes into conflict with its opposite.

Dialectical materialism, official philosophy of Communism, based on the works of Karl Marx and his followers. A reversal of Hegel's dialectical Idealism, it holds that everything is material and that human beings create social life solely in response to economic needs. Thus all aspects of society are considered to reflect the economic structure, and classes in society are determined by their relationship to the means of production. Growth, change, and development take place through a naturally occurring “struggle of opposites,” a process that individuals cannot influence. Application of these principles to the study of history and sociology is called historical materialism, an approach having many non-Communist advocates.

Dominicans, Roman Catholic religious order, officially named the Order of Preachers (O.P.). Founded (1216) by St. Dominic, the order preached against the heresy of the Albigenses and produced many eminent theologians, notably St. Thomas Aquinas. Members are accepted not into a specific house, but into the whole order, and wear a white habit with a black mantle (worn when preaching). There is a contemplative order of nuns and a widespread third order, including many teachers.

Donatism a rigorist, schismatic Christian sect, strongly opposed by Saint Augustine, that arose in North Africa in the fourth century A.D. and believed in sanctity as requisite for church membership and administration of all sacraments.

Dualism in philosophy and theology, system that explains all phenomena in terms of two distinct and irreducible principles, e.g., ideas and matter (as in Plato, Aristotle, and modern metaphysics) or mind and matter (as in psychology). In theology the term refers to a concept of opposing principles, e.g., good and evil. See also Monism.

Empiricism is the view that experience is the source and test of knowledge.

Enlightenment, term for the rationalist, liberal, humanitarian, and scientific trend of 18th-cent. Western thought; the period is also sometimes known as the Age of Reason. The enormous scientific and intellectual advancements made in the 17th cent. by the empiricism of Francis Bacon and Locke, as well as by Descartes, Spinoza, and others, fostered the belief in natural law and universal order, promoted a scientific approach to political and social issues, and gave rise to a sense of human progress and belief in the state as its rational instrument.

Epicureanism is the belief that pleasure should be the goal of human activity but that true pleasure depends on self-control, moderation, and honorable behavior.

Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that studies the nature, basis, and extent of knowledge.

Ethics is the branch of philosophy that studies human conduct and the nature of right and wrong.

Eucharist ['ju:kqrIst] 1.a. A sacrament and the central act of worship in many Christian churches, which was instituted at the Last Supper and in which bread and wine are consecrated and consumed in remembrance of Jesus's death; Communion. b. The consecrated elements of this rite; Communion.2.Christian Science. Spiritual communion with God.

Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one's acts.

Functionalism 1.The doctrine that the function of an object should determine its design and materials.2.A doctrine stressing purpose, practicality, and utility.

Franciscans, members of several Roman Catholic religious orders following the rule (approved 1223) of St. Francis of Assisi (Italy).

The son of a wealthy merchant, he underwent a conversion at age 22 and became markedly devout and ascetic. In 1209 he began to preach and was given permission by Pope Innocent III to form an order of friars. The friars traveled about Italy and soon began preaching in foreign countries, including (1219–20) the Holy Land. In 1221 Francis gave up command of the order, and in 1224 he became the first known person to receive the stigmata (wounds corresponding to those of the crucified Jesus). Francis exemplified humility, love of poverty, and joyous religious fervor; he is also associated with a simple love of nature and humanity and is often depicted preaching to birds. Franciscans are educators and missionaries.

Hedonism is the belief that the pleasure is the highest good.

Historical materialism is a major tenet in the Marxist theory of history that regards material economic forces as the base on which sociopolitical institutions and ideas are built.

Humanism is a philosophy that stresses the importance of human beings and their nature and place in the universe.

Idealism is the belief that fundamental reality is made up of minds and ideas, not of material objects. Idealists believe that the existence of objects depends on minds and ideas.

Inquisition , tribunal of the Roman Catholic Church formed to suppress heresy. In 1233 Pope Gregory IX established the papal Inquisition to combat the heresy of the Albigenses.

Logic is the branch of philosophy that deals with the principles of reasoning.

Logical positivism, also known as scientific empiricism, modern school of philosophy that in the 1920s attempted to introduce the methodology and precision of mathematics to the study of philosophy, much as had been done in symbolic logic

Manichaeism (Manichaeanism) ['mxnIki:Iz(q)m] 1.The syncretic, dualistic religious philosophy taught by the Persian prophet Manes, combining elements of Zoroastrian, Christian, and Gnostic thought and opposed by the imperial Roman government, Neo-Platonist philosophers, and orthodox Christians. 2.A dualistic philosophy dividing the world between good and evil principles or regarding matter as intrinsically evil and mind as intrinsically good.

Materialism is a belief that only matter has real existence and that mental phenomena are produced by the activity of matter.

Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that seeks to understand the nature of being and reality.

Monism 1.The view in metaphysics that reality is a unified whole and that all existing things can be ascribed to or described by a single concept or system.2.The doctrine that mind and matter are formed, or reducible to, the same ultimate substance or principle of being. In metaphysics, term applied from the 18th cent. to any theory that explains phenomena by one unifying principle or as the manifestation of a single substance, variously identified as spirit or mind (e.g., Hegel), energy, or an all-pervasive deity (e.g., Spinoza). The opposites of monism are pluralism, the explanation of the universe in terms of many principles or substances, and dualism.

Nominalism is the doctrine holding that abstract concepts, general terms, or universals have no objective reference but exist only as names; theory holding that universal words (nomina) or concepts have no objective reality outside the mind, and that only individual things and events exist objectively. The theory, contrasted to Platonic idealism and, in the Middle Ages, to realism, is appropriate to materialism and empiricism.

Parsimony is unusual or excessive frugality; extreme economy or stinginess. Adoption of the simplest assumption in the formulation of a theory or in the interpretation of data, especially in accordance with the rule of Ockham's razor.

Pelagianism – the theological doctrine propounded by Pelagius, a British monk, and condemned as heresy by the Roman Catholic Church in A.D. 416. It denied original sin and affirmed the ability of human beings to be righteous by the exercise of free will.

Phenomenology, modern school of philosophy founded by Edmund Husserl, who attempted to develop a philosophical method devoid of presuppositions by focusing purely on phenomena and elucidating their meaning through intuition. Anything that cannot be perceived, and thus is not immediately given to the consciousness, is excluded. The influence of phenomenology was strong, especially on existentialism.

Pluralism 1. The condition of being plural. 2. A condition of society in which numerous distinct ethnic, religious, or cultural groups coexist within one nation. 3. Ecclesiastical. The holding by one person of two or more positions or offices, especially two or more ecclesiastical benefices, at the same time. 4. Philosophy a. The doctrine that reality is composed of many ultimate substances. b. The belief that no single explanatory system or view of reality can account for all the phenomena of life.

Positivism – a system of thought opposed to metaphysics and maintaining that the goal of knowledge is simply to describe the phenomena experienced. Its basic tenets are contained in the works of Francis Bacon, George Berkeley, and Hume.

Pragmatism is a philosophy that tests the truth and value of ideas by their practical consequences.

Protestantism, form of Christian faith and practice that originated with the principles of the Reformation. The term, used in many senses, applies to Christians not belonging to the Roman Catholic Church or to an Orthodox Eastern church. Two distinct branches of Protestantism grew out of the Reformation. The evangelical churches of Scandinavia and Germany were followers of Martin Luther, and the reformed churches in other countries were followers of John Calvin and Huldreich Zwingli. A third major branch, episcopacy, developed in England, but since the Oxford Movement in the 19th cent. many Anglicans reject the term because they tend to agree with Roman Catholicism on most doctrinal points except the primacy of the pope.

Psychology, the study of human behavior, focusing on such questions as individual perceptions of the world and self, recall of events and ideas, problem solving, use of language and other mental tasks,group interaction, adjustment to social and physical environment, and the normal and abnormal development of these processes from infancy to old age. The two most widely used techniques for studying behavior are observations of the behavior of animals and humans and experimental studies of the effects of environmental changes on behavior.

Rationalism is the theory that knowledge can be derived from reason by itself, independent of the senses.

Realism is the doctrine that things exist in and of themselves,independent of ideas that people may have about them. In medieval philosophy, realism was the position that universals or general concepts have existence independent of both the human mind and individual objects. It is a position directly opposite to nominalism. In epistemology, realism represents the theory that individual things exist independently of the mind's perception of them, as opposed to idealism, which holds that reality exists only in the mind.

Sacrament 1.A visible form of invisible grace, especially: a. In the Eastern, Roman Catholic, and some other Western Christian churches, any of the traditional seven rites that were instituted by Jesus and recorded in the New Testament and that confer sanctifying grace. b. In most other Western Christian churches, the two rites, Baptism and the Eucharist, that were instituted by Jesus to confer sanctifying grace. 2. a. The Eucharist. b. The consecrated elements of the Eucharist, especially the bread or host.

Scholasticism 1.The dominant western Christian theological and philosophical school of the Middle Ages, based on the authority of the Latin Fathers and of Aristotle and his commentators. 2.Close adherence to the methods, traditions, and teachings of a sect or school. 3.Scholarly conservatism or pedantry.

Skepticism is a philosophy that claims we can never have real knowledge of anything.

Social contract, agreement by which human beings are said to have abandoned the “state of nature” in order to form the society in which they now live. Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau each developed differing versions of the social contract, but all agreed that certain freedoms had been surrendered for society's protection and that the government has definite responsibilities to its citizens.

Stoicism, school of philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium c.300 B.C. Influenced by Socratic ideals and by the thought of Heraclitus, Aristotle, and Plato, the Stoics held that all reality is material but is shaped by a universal working force (God) that pervades everything. Only by putting aside passion, unjust thoughts, and indulgence, and by performing one's duty with the right disposition can a person live consistently with nature and thus achieve true freedom. The school was especially well received in the Roman world; Cicero, Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius were all Stoics.

Syllogism, in logic, a mode of argument that forms the core of the body of Western logical thought, consisting of a sequence of three propositions such that the first two imply the conclusion. Aristotle's formulations of syllogistic logic held sway in the Western world for over 2,000 years.

Symbolic logic – a treatment of formal logic in which a system of symbols is used to represent quantities and relationships. Also called mathematical logic.

Utilitarianism is the belief that human conduct should be based on what produces the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

Voluntarism 1.The use of or reliance on voluntary action to maintain an institution, carry out a policy, or achieve an end.2.A theory or doctrine that regards the will as the fundamental principle of the individual or of the universe.