Philosophical Conceptions
(a science that attempts to discover the fundamental principles of the sciences, the arts, and the world that the sciences and arts influence)
a posteriori
Reasoning from observed facts to general conclusions.
a priori
Reasoning from general propositions to particular conclusions.
anthropomorphism
The interpretation of God in the likeness of man.
Apollonian
Having the calm, "classic" beauty of Apollo, as against the emotional and "romantic" qualities associated with Dionysus.
behaviorist
Someone who restricts psychology to objective observation, ignoring introspection and consciousness.
Calvinism
A form of Protestantism emphasizing the eternal predestination of every individual to damnation or to salvation.
casuality
The operation of cause and effect.
An idea; often used specifically regarding philosophical ideas.
consciousness
Awareness.
cosmology
A study of the origin and nature of the world.
determinism
The doctrine that all events are the inevitable result of antecedent conditions, and that the human being, in acts of apparent choice, is the mechanical expression of his heredity and his past environment.
dialectic
Any logical process; in Hegel, the development of one idea or condition into another by the process of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis.
entelechy
The inner nature of anything that determines its development.
epicurean
Someone who believes that pleasure is the highest good.
epistemology
1. The study of the origin, processes, and validity of knowledge.
2. The branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and origin of knowledge.
2. The branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and origin of knowledge.
Epistemology asks the question, "How do we know what we know?"
