Glossary of Key Terms

Requiring sensory experience of the world. An a posteriori proposition can be known only after experience. (Latin "from what comes after")

Requiring no sensory experience of the world. An a priori proposition can be known independently of and prior to experience. (Latin "from what comes before")

The political doctrine and practice of unlimited, centralized authority with absolute sovereignty vested in a monarch or dictator.

A disinterested attitude. (See "disinterested attitude.")

A particularly satisfying or pleasurable experience of a work of art that accompanies a disinterested attitude.

The view that whether or not God exists is unknown or unknowable, that sufficient or persuasive evidence has not been given either way.

The view that moral decisions should be guided by consideration for the interests and well-being of other people rather than merely by self-interest.

Refers to a proposition being true based on what its words mean; it is true by definition. No experience of the world is required to justify.

The belief that an ideal human society should have no organized government and entails no regard for the authority of existing governments.

A connected series of statements, including at least one premise, intended to demonstrate that another statement, the conclusion, is true.

The view that God does not exist.

A statement held to be self-evidently true and so neither requiring nor capable of proof.

Both an ideology and politico-economic system where production is controlled privately and for profit.

The relationship between two events such that the first (the cause) brings about the second (the effect.)

Similar to family resemblance, the view that there is a non-specific set of characteristics that may apply to the concept of artwork.

The attribute of an inductive arguments that denotes the truth of its premises and its logical strength.

An expression of socialism where capitalism is replaced with publicly owned means of production and communal control of the society's natural resources.

The view that determinism does not rule out what is meant by free will, even though determinism is real and all events are caused.

The statement that is inferred, or reasoned, from a given set of premises.

Any normative theory holding that human actions derive their moral worth solely from the outcomes or results that they produce. Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory.

Relating to theories about the origin and development of the universe.

Inferential process that supports a conclusion with certainty.

See "theodicy."

The form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation, usually involving periodically held free elections.

The ethical theory that sees morality as doing one's duty by following rules, without considering the probable consequences of one's actions.

A claim, or judgment, that affirms what is the case.

The view that all things are determined by antecedent (prior) conditions; everything is bound by the laws of cause and effect. Every event, including human actions, is brought about by previous events in accordance with universal causal laws that govern the world.

Perceiving a work of art in its own right, with no purposeful intent, idle curiosity, or bias from personal experience and emotion.

The view that material substance (physical body) and immaterial substance (mind or soul) are two separate aspects of the self.

The view that people's common-sense understanding of the mind is false and that certain classes of mental states that most people believe in do not exist.

The view that art must effectively arouse feelings or understanding in the perceiver.

Reliance on experience as the source of ideas and knowledge.

The view that moral decisions should be guided by self-interest.

Ethical theories focused on the moral importance of human relationships and dependencies.

Happiness involving human flourishing through intellectual excellence and moral virtue.

The ability of a hypothesis or theory to be tested and thereby shown to be false by observable means.

The view that there is no single common property among art objects. Works of art have only overlapping similarities.

An authoritarian system of government and social organization characterized by belief in the supremacy of one national or ethnic group, dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, and control of industry and commerce.

A defect in an argument that can be detected by examining the form of an argument.

The view that art is defined in terms of its compositional elements.

An approach to the philosophy of mind that analyzes mental states in terms of what they do, rather than of what they are.

The view that art serves a practical purpose.

An argument that proceeds from knowledge about particular/selected members of a group or class to a claim about the entire group or class.

An argument that is logically strong and has all true premises.

The view that pleasure is the highest or only intrinsic good in life.

A general principle, tentatively put forward for the purposes of scientific explanation, and subject to refutation by empirical evidence.

The view that mental states are brain states.

An argument with a single premise, just one inferential step, supporting its conclusion

The view that some events, including human actions, are not necessarily determined by previous events in accordance with universal causal laws.

Inferential process providing support strong enough to offer high probability (but not absolute certainty) for the conclusion.

The attribute of inductive arguments that denotes logical strength. An inductive argument is logically strong when, if all its premises were true, then it's highly likely or probable that its conclusion would also true.

The process of basing a conclusion on evidence, or reasoning. The word "inference" may be used to refer to the conclusion/claim itself.

A defect in an argument that can be detected by examining the content of the argument.

Mental contents that are presumed to exist in the mind prior to and independently of any experience.

Something that can be used to attain, or that leads to, something else that is good.

Something that is good in and of itself, and not because of something that may result from it.

A theory of knowledge that is a variety of rationalism in which knowing relies on non-inferential mental faculties, rather than reasoning, and not on sensory experience. One "just knows."

A political philosophy based on ideas of personal liberty, rights and responsibilities of individuals, equality of individuals, and the obligations of the state to protect freedom and rights.

The view that humans do have free will and make genuinely free choices, and that when humans make a choice, they could have made an alternate one.

A political theory that takes individual liberty as the primary political value.

The degree of support that the premises, if true, confer on the conclusion. Applies to both deductive and inductive arguments.

The view that only physical things truly exist. Materialists claim (or promise to explain) every apparent instance of a mental phenomenon as a feature of something physical.

Activities involving discussion "about" ethics, offering an account of moral language and its uses, and discussing the origin and meaning of ethical concepts.

The view that there is one and only one deity.

The view that there is one true moral system with specific moral rules, which may not be overridden for any reason. At least some moral values apply to everyone and every culture at every time.

The view that moral facts exist in the sense that they hold for everyone.

The view that there are no universal standards of moral value, that values and beliefs are relative to individuals or societies that hold them. The rightness of an action depends on the attitude taken toward it by the society or culture of the person doing the action.

The view that moral facts are expressions of an individual's mental state or attitude and are statements about what the subject perceives, not about the object or action perceived.

Establishing, relating to, or deriving from a standard or norm, especially of behavior.

A claim, or judgment, that affirms what ought to be the case.

The view that beauty is an intrinsic feature of a piece of art or natural phenomenon.

"It is pointless to do with more what can be done with less" - an often quoted statement on the merits of simplicity, by William of Ockham (1285 - 1349), an English philosopher who defended the work of Aristotle.

Relating to the branch of metaphysics dealing with the nature of being.

John Rawls' conception of a hypothetical position, or standpoint, in which the nature of justice can be discovered from behind a "veil of ignorance," where rational persons have no knowledge of their particular circumstances and are disinterested in one another's well-being.

A central model or template, along with its background assumptions, within which science works.

The view that everything can be wholly explained in terms of physical properties, states, and events.

In philosophy of religion, the view that a diversity of religious belief systems can co-exist and make claims that are equally valid.

The view that meaning and truth of ideas and beliefs are explained in terms of observable practical outcomes.

A statement that provides reasons or evidence to support an argument's conclusion.

Same as "normative claim." A claim, or judgment, that affirms what ought to be the case.

Reliance on reason as the only reliable source of human knowledge.

The view that art is a representation, or imitation, of something else that is real.

For Durkheim, whatever becomes the focal point of religious belief and practice.

A period of transition in scientific progress when a new paradigm replaces an old.

The theory that certain knowledge is impossible, or that we must doubt what we think we know.

The view that political structure and legitimacy of the state stem from explicit or implicit agreement by individuals to surrender specified rights in exchange for the stability of social order and protection by the government.

A sociopolitical view within liberalism that advocates state regulation of certain means of production and favors social welfare programs to redistribute selected resources.

A sociopolitical theory which states that a society's resources belong to all of its members and should be shared with everyone, with ownership and control of the means of production and distribution of resources carried out typically through a centralized government.

The attribute of a deductive argument that denotes both the truth of its premises and its logical strength.

The view that beauty occurs in the mind of the subject who perceives it.

Refers to a proposition requiring experience of the world to be known. Justification depends on the way the world actually is.

The idea that the mind of an individual begins without any mental content and all knowledge comes from experience. (Latin for "blank slate.")

Relating to design or purpose.

The view that God exists.

A form of government in which God or a deity is recognized as the source of control, as interpreted by the divine authorities.

A justification for the possible co-existence of God and evil that includes a plausible justification for God's permitting evil. Contrast with a "defense," which is a logical rebuttal of the argument that God and evil cannot co-exist.

A political doctrine involving unlimited authority and full control over public and private affairs such as moral values, finances, and beliefs of the citizens, with full power and authority vested in the state.

Kant's theory of knowledge that maintains that synthetic a priori judgments are possible and provide the basis for truths about the world that are both necessary and universal. Knowledge is acquired by connecting concepts of our understanding to our experiences.

The view that an action is morally right if it produces at least as much good (utility) for all people affected by the action as any alternative action that could be done instead.

The attribute of deductive arguments that denotes logical strength. A deductive argument is valid when, if all its premises were true, then its conclusion must be true, by necessity.

Refers to theories that consider moral value of an action by examining the character and virtues of the person who performs an action.