Possible world. Modus tollens. An imagined scenario. To be a person is ipso facto to have moral worth. Any inference of the form: if X, then Y, X, therefore Y (“Affirmation of the antecedent”). A proposition is knowable a priori iff one could be justified in believing it on the basis of reason alone. this swan is white, this other swan is white, and so is that one, therefore all swans are white. Metaphysics has many specific branches but at the broadest level can be thought of as the study of how things are. A set of claims where (a) one of these claims is the argument’s conclusion, (b) the others are its premises, and (c) the premises are (rightly or wrongly) put forward as evidence for the conclusion. If experience must in some way enter into the justification, it is said to be only knowable a posteriori. Inference to the best explanation. the quality of "redness"). Universal: a property of an object, which can exist in more than one place at the same time (e.g. This is an attempt to define or discuss the use of terms in philosophical discussions. For example, a moral realist would believe that something is in essence "right" or "wrong," it is not determined by any individual's opinion. Use/Mention. Necessary / Sufficient Condition. Our intuitions about the scenario may be incompatible with what a theory claims about the scenario, forcing us to decide between the theory and our intuitions. Analytic / Synthetic. Ontology. Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. The question, What is art?, is an aesthetical one. Zeitgeist: the intellectual and cultural climate of an era (literally, "the spirit of the age "). Metaphysics / Epistemology. E.g. Aesthetics: The study of beauty, ugliness, and maybe even the sublime. The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to philosophy: . Constructivism. All cats are fat, a fortiori Tibbles is fat. E.g. An argument begs the question iff one of the premises of the argument covertly assumes the truth of the conclusion – that is, the argument is circular. Type/Token. Normative. Two common types of inductive inference are…. It contains 4 types of letter (d, l, n, o) but a total of 6 letter tokens. Converse. The question, What is art?, is an aesthetical one. Sound. All the ‘ultimate stuff’ questions are metaphysical ones. (Alternative definition: ... iff there is no possible situation in which the premises are all true and the conclusion false. The question is ambiguous. Conscience. Act and power:. In a definition, the definiendum is the phrase being defined, the definiens is what defines the definiendum. Empirical. Epistemology: The study of belief, truth, knowledge, and rationality. London is smelly (use); “London” has six letters (mention). A deduction is a valid argument. If the meaning alone of a true sentence is not enough to ensure its truth, it is synthetically true. Abduction: The process of arriving at an explanatory hypothesis. About 150 q/a pairs of common philosophical terms. Manichaeism One of the major ancient religions. Some basic terms in philosophy include: Aesthetics: The study of beauty, ugliness, and maybe even the sublime. Aesthetics: The study of beauty, ugliness, and maybe even the sublime. A sentence is analytically true iff it is true solely in virtue of the meaning of the expressions within it. Certain terms crop up again and again in philosophical discourse with their meaning presupposed. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. a mouse in the house). PLAY. A claim is ad hoc iff it lacks independent motivation but is made instead solely so as to save the pet theory of the person making it. Metaphysics. Begging the question. An argument is sound iff (a) its premises are all true and (b) it is valid. Consequentialism. Common Philosophical Terms. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle: The Big Three in Greek Philosophy, How to Interpret a Correlation Coefficient r, How to Translate a Website with Google Translate, Part of Philosophy For Dummies Cheat Sheet. The converse of “If X, then Y” is “If Y, then X”. (Similar: eo ipso.). However, most of the writings of the founding prophet Mani have been lost. To infer from the truth of many instances of a generalization, to the truth of the generalization itself, is to have performed an enumerative induction. Reductio ad absurdum (“Reduction to absurdity”). Necessary / Contingent. Criticizing a position by calling attention to irrelevant personal characteristics of someone who holds it. To be a really great (or even fair-to-middling) philosopher, you need to understand some of the lingo of philosophy. Argument. E.g. Objective Theory of Truth Some basic terms in philosophy include: Philosophy: Love of wisdom. It’s contrapositive is “If not-Y, then not-X”. Glossary of Basic Philosophy Terms. X is a necessary condition of Y iff Y could not obtain without X also obtaining. Only the contrapositive is logically equivalent to the original. Iff. Confucianism. A narrow usage of the term refers to the study of that which lies beyond the physical realm (i.e., the supernatural realm). Induction. Sometimes said to be “inductively but not deductively valid”. An induction is an argument the truth of whose premises would not serve to guarantee the truth of its conclusion, yet would provide some evidence for it. Medical ethics: When is it okay to clone? To be a really great (or even fair-to-middling) philosopher, you need to understand some of the lingo of philosophy. To infer to the best explanation is to infer from the existence of a phenomenon (e.g. Most of these positions are closely related to Christianity or are responses to it. Virtue: the moral excellence of a person, or any trait valued as being good. It is contingent iff it obtains though it could have failed to obtain. Philosophy 101: The Basic Theories You Should Know Plato’s Allegory Of The Cave. A fortiori (“Hence still more strongly”). Meta-aesthetics tip: If a theoretical aesthetician can’t match a suit and tie or a skirt and shirt, take anything they say with a grain of salt. A normative term is one that cannot be used except in making normative claims. Originating in Plato’s The Republic, the cave allegory aims to make a key point about the... Confucianism. The branch or field of philosophy concerned with the ultimate nature, structure, and characteristics of reality. Metaphysics is sometimes used interchangeably with the term Ontology Some basic terms in philosophy include: Philosophy: Love of wisdom. C. Causality. ), $\neg, \sim$: Not$\wedge,\&$: And$\vee$: Or$\forall$: All/Every$\exists$: There exists at least one/Some$\rightarrow,\supset$: If...Then...$[ ]$: Necessarily$< >$: Possibly, $P\rightarrow Q$: If $P$ then $Q$$[ ] Fa$: Necessarily, $a$ has property $F$$\exists x (Fx\wedge Gx)$: There is at least one thing that is both $F$ and $G$$\forall x(Fx\vee Gx)$: Everything is either $F$ or $G$, Department of Philosophy, Skinner Building, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-7505 Web Accessibility | Privacy Notice, Phone: (301) 405-5689 | Fax: (301) 301-405-5690, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, available online at. A priori / a posteriori. Not to be confused with the fallacious: if X, then Y, not X, therefore not Y (“Denial of the antecedent”). Basic Philosophical Terms, Concepts, and Principles Reasoning is the process of arriving at one belief on the basis of another. Philosphers tend to use terms in more precise ways than they are used in casual conversation. The branch or field of philosophy concerned with the ultimate nature, structure, and characteristics of reality.