Glossary of philosophy

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This glossary of philosophy is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to philosophy and related disciplines, including logic, ethics, and theology.^[1][2]

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A

absolutism

The philosophy, developed by Hegel, viewing all possible states of being as part of a greater totality of experiences.

absurdism

The philosophy stating that the efforts of humanity to find meaning in the Universe will ultimately fail because no such meaning exists (at least in relation to humanity). Absurdism is related to existentialism, though should not be confused with it, nor with nihilism.

accidentalism

Any system of thought that denies the causal nexus and maintains that events succeed one another haphazardly or by chance (not in the mathematical but in the popular sense). In metaphysics, accidentalism denies the doctrine that everything occurs or results from a definite cause. In this connection it is synonymous with tychism (ruxi, chance), a term used by Charles Sanders Peirce for the theories that make chance an objective factor in the process of the Universe.

acosmism

The philosophy that denies the reality of the Universe, seeing it as ultimately illusory, and only the infinite Unmanifest Absolute as real. In contrast to pantheism, acosmism begins with the recognition that there is only one Reality, which is infinite, non-dual, blissful, etc. Yet the phenomenal reality of which humans are normally aware is none of these things; it is in fact just the opposite—i.e., dualistic, finite, full of suffering and pain, and so on. And since the Absolute is the only reality, that means that everything that is not Absolute cannot be real. Thus, according to this viewpoint, the phenomenal dualistic world is ultimately an illusion ("Maya" to use the technical Indian term), irrespective of the apparent reality it possesses at the mundane or empirical level.

aestheticism

A loosely defined movement in art and literature popular in late 19th-century Britain which held that art does not have any didactic purpose (it need only be beautiful), and that life should imitate art. The main characteristics of the movement were suggestion rather than statement, sensuality, massive use of symbols, and synaesthetic effects – that is, correspondence between words, colors, and music.

agnostic atheism

The philosophical view that encompasses both atheism and agnosticism. Due to definitional variance, an agnostic atheist does not believe in god or gods and by extension holds true that "the existence and nonexistence of deities is currently unknown and may be absolutely unknowable", or that "knowledge of the existence and nonexistence of deities is irrelevant or unimportant", or that "abstention from claims of knowledge of the existence and nonexistence of deities is optimal". Contrast agnostic theism.

agnostic theism

The philosophical view that encompasses both theism and agnosticism. An agnostic theist is one who views that the truth value of claims regarding the existence of god or gods is unknown or inherently unknowable, but still chooses to believe in god or gods in spite of this. Contrast agnostic atheism.

agnosticism

The philosophical view that the truth values of certain claims — particularly theological claims regarding the existence of god, gods, or deities — are unknown, inherently unknowable, or incoherent, and therefore irrelevant to life. Agnosticism itself, in both its strong (explicit) and weak (implicit) forms, is necessarily neither an atheist nor a theist position, though an agnostic person may also be either an atheist, a theist, or one who endorses neither position.

altruism

The belief that people have a moral obligation to serve others or the "greater good". It is generally opposed to the concepts of self-interest and egoism.

amor fati

A Latin phrase that may be translated as "love of fate" or "love of one's fate". It is used to describe an attitude in which one sees everything that happens in one's life, including suffering and loss, as good or, at the very least, necessary, in that they are among the facts of one's life and existence, so they are always necessarily there whether one likes them or not. Moreover, amor fati is characterized by a passive acceptance of the events or situations that occur in one's life.^[3]

anarchism

The political position of any of a number of views and movements which advocate the absence or elimination of rulership or government. Other than being opposed to the state, there is no single defining position that all anarchists hold. Compare and contrast libertarianism.

anarcho-capitalism

A philosophy based on the idea of

individual liberty and property

by replacing a government monopoly, which is involuntarily funded through taxation, with private, competing businesses.

anarcho-primitivism

An

division of labor

or specialization, and abandonment of technology.

anarcho-syndicalism

A form of anarchism that allies itself with

labor unions

, as a force for revolutionary social change. Anarcho-syndicalists seek to replace capitalism and the state with a democratically worker-managed means of production. They seek to abolish the wage system and most forms of private property.

anima mundi

The "world soul"; a universal soul encompassing all individual souls within itself.

animism

"Animism" has been applied to many different philosophical systems. This includes

scholastics. On the other hand, monadology (Leibniz) has also been described as animistic. The name is most commonly applied to vitalism, which makes life, or life and mind, the directive principle in evolution and growth, holding that life is not merely mechanical but that there is a directive force that guides energy without altering its amount. An entirely different class of ideas, also termed animistic, is the belief in the "world soul", held by Plato, Schelling

and others. Lastly, in discussions of religion, "animism" refers to the belief in indwelling souls or spirits, particularly so-called "primitive" religions that consider everything inhabited by spirits.

anthropocentrism

Also called humanocentrism.

The practice, conscious or otherwise, of regarding the existence and concerns of

human beings as the central fact of the universe. This is similar, but not identical, to the practice of relating all that happens in the universe to the human experience. To clarify, the first position concludes that the fact of human existence is the point of universal existence; the latter merely compares all activity to that of humanity, without making any teleological

conclusions.

anthropomorphism

A form of personification involving the attribution of human characteristics and qualities to non-human beings, objects, or natural phenomena. Animals, forces of nature, and unseen or unknown authors of chance are frequent subjects of anthropomorphosis. Two examples are the attribution of a human body or of human qualities generally to god (or the gods), and creating imaginary persons who are the embodiment of an abstraction such as Death, Lust, War, or the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Anthropomorphism is similar to prosopopoeia (adopting the persona of another person).^[4]

antinatalism

A philosophical position that assigns a negative value to birth. Antinatalists argue that people should refrain from procreation because it is morally bad.

Antinomianism

In theology, the idea that members of a particular religious group are under no obligation to obey the laws of ethics or morality as presented by religious authorities. Antinomianism is the polar opposite of legalism, the notion that obedience to a code of religious law is necessary for salvation. The term has become a point of contention among opposed religious authorities. Few groups or sects explicitly call themselves "antinomian", but the charge is often levelled by some sects against competing sects.

anti-realism

Any position involving either the denial of the objective reality of entities of a certain type or the insistence that humans should be

natural numbers), moral categories

, the material world, or even thought.

Aristotelianism

The philosophical tradition that takes its defining inspiration from the work of Aristotle and the Peripatetic school. Sometimes contrasted by critics with the rationalism and idealism of Plato, Aristotelianism is understood by its proponents as critically developing Plato's theories. Most particularly, Aristotelianism brings Plato's ideals down to Earth as goals and goods internal to natural species that are realized in activity. This is the characteristically Aristotelian idea of teleology.

Arminianism

A school of

Calvinism

(or Reformed theology), and the two systems share both their histories and many doctrines in common.

asceticism

A way of life characterised by an austere existence that refrains from worldly pleasures. Those who practice ascetic lifestyles often perceive their practices as virtuous and pursue them to achieve greater spirituality. In a more cynical context, asceticism may connote some form of self-mortification, ritual punishment of the body, or harsh renunciation of pleasure, though the word itself does not necessarily imply a negative connotation.

ascriptivism

The view that human beings are to be held responsible for their actions even if determinism is true.^[5]

associationalism

A political project where "human welfare and liberty are both best served when as many of the affairs of a society as possible are managed by voluntary and democratically self-governing associations".^[6] Associationalism "gives priority to freedom in its scale of values, but it contends that such freedom can only be pursued effectively if individuals join with their fellows"^[6]

atheism

The absence of belief in the existence of god or gods, thus contrasting with theism; a condition of being without theistic beliefs. This definition includes both those who assert that there are no gods and those who maintain no beliefs at all regarding the existence of gods. However, narrower definitions often only qualify the former as atheism, with the latter falling under the more general (but rarely used) term nontheism.

atomism

The theory that all objects in the Universe are composed of very small, indestructible elements called atoms. (This is the case for the Western [i.e., Greek] theories of atomism. Buddhists also have well-developed theories of atomism, which involve momentary, or non-eternal, atoms, that flash in and out of existence).

authoritarianism

An organization or a state that enforces strong, and sometimes oppressive measures against those in its sphere of influence, generally without attempts at gaining their consent and often not allowing feedback on its policies. In an authoritarian state, citizens are subject to state authority in many aspects of their lives, including many that other political philosophies would see as matters of personal choice. There are various degrees of authoritarianism; even very democratic and liberal states will show authoritarianism to some extent, for example in areas of national security.

automatism

Also called surrealist automatism

An artistic technique of spontaneous writing, drawing, or the like that is practiced without conscious aesthetic or moral self-censorship.

B

behavioralism

An approach in

behavioral sciences, modeled after the natural sciences. It should not be confused with the behaviorism of psychology

.

behaviorism

An approach to

pharmacological therapy. It should not be confused with the behavioralism of political science

.

biologism

Also called biological determinism.

The interpretation of humans and human life from a strictly

biological

point of view. It is closely related to and often used interchangeably with genetic determinism.

Buddhism

A

Siddhārtha Gautama. The basic teachings of Buddhism have to do with the nature of suffering or dissatisfaction (dukkha) and its overcoming through ethical principles, meditation and wisdom (the Eightfold Path). Buddhism originated in India, and is today largely followed in Southeast and East Asia, including China, Japan, Korea, Tibet, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand. Buddhism is divided into different sects and movements, of which the largest are the Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana

.

C

capitalism

An

commodities and services are determined mainly in a free market. Capitalism has also been called laissez-faire economy, free market economy, free enterprise system, economic liberalism, and economic individualism.^[4]

careerism

The desire to advance one's own career as a sole aim in life, often at the expense of personal and social growth or development.

Cartesianism

A philosophy based on the ideas and works of the French philosopher René Descartes.

Christian existential humanism

A philosophy that argues that humans can make choices based on free will through Christ's teachings.

Christian existentialism

The philosophical movement shares similar views to existentialism with the added idea that the

Judeo-Christian-Islamic God

plays an important part in coping with the underlying themes of human existence.

Christian humanism

A philosophy in which human freedom and individualism are compatible with the practice of Christianity or intrinsic in its doctrine. It is a combination of humanist and Christian values.

Christian materialism

The philosophical view that the only thing that can truly be said to 'exist' is matter due to the teachings of Christ.

Christianism

Another name for Christianity, the

Abrahamic religion, along with Judaism and Islam

.

classical theism

Traditional ideas of the

omnipotent), and perfect being. God is related to the world as its cause, but is unaffected by the world (immutable). He is transcendent

over the world, which exists relative to him as a temporal effect.

Classicism

In the

Greek classical theater, including the Classical unities

of time, place and action.

cognitivism

1.  In ethics, cognitivism is the philosophical view that ethical sentences express propositions, and hence are capable of being true or false. More generally, cognitivism with respect to any area of discourse is the position that sentences used in that discourse are cognitive, that is, are meaningful and capable of being true or false.

2.  In psychology, cognitivism is the approach to understanding the mind that argues that mental function can be understood as the 'internal' rule bound manipulation of symbols. See Cognitivism (psychology).

coherentism

There are two distinct types of coherentism. One refers to the

theory of justification, an epistemological theory opposing foundationalism and offering a solution to the regress argument. In this epistemological capacity, it is a theory about how belief can be justified

.

Colbertism

A variation of mercantilism which was applied in France between 1661 and 1683 by the superintendent of Finances Jean-Baptiste Colbert.

collectivism

A theoretical or practical emphasis on the group, as opposed to (and seen by many of its opponents to be at the expense of) the individual. Some psychologists define collectivism as a syndrome of attitudes and behaviors based on the belief that the basic unit of survival lies within a group, not the individual. Collectivists typically hold that the "greater good" of the group, is more important than the good of any particular individual who is one part of that larger organization. Some collectivists argue that the individual incidentally serves his own interests by working for the benefit of the group.^[4]

Communal (disambiguation)

Outside of

social theories in some way centered upon the community

. Communalism can take the form of communal living or communal property, among others. It is sometimes said to put the interests of the community above the interests of the individual, but this is usually only done on the principle that the community exists for the benefit of the individuals who participate in it, so the best way to serve the interests of the individual is through the interests of the community.

communism

A theoretical system of social organization and a political movement based on common ownership of the means of production. As a political movement, communism seeks to establish a classless society. A major force in world politics since the early 20th century, modern communism is generally associated with The Communist Manifesto of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, according to which the capitalist profit-based system of private ownership is replaced by a communist society in which the means of production are communally owned, such as through a gift economy. Often this process is said initiated by the revolutionary overthrow of the bourgeoisie (see Marxism), passes through a transitional period marked by the preparatory stage of socialism (see Leninism). Pure communism has never been implemented, it remains theoretical: communism is, in Marxist theory, the end-state, or the result of state-socialism. The word is now mainly understood to refer to the political, economic, and social theory of Marxist thinkers, or life under conditions of Communist party rule.^[4]

communitarianism

A group of related but distinct philosophies that began in the late 20th century, opposing aspects of liberalism and capitalism while advocating phenomena such as civil society. Not necessarily hostile to liberalism in the contemporary American sense of the word, communitarianism rather has a different emphasis, shifting the focus of interest toward communities and societies and away from the individual. The question of priority (individual or community) often has the largest impact in the most pressing ethical questions: health care, abortion, multiculturalism, hate speech, and so on.

compatibilism

Also known as "soft determinism" and championed by David Hume, is a theory that holds that free will and determinism are compatible. According to Hume, free will should not be understood as an absolute ability to have chosen differently under exactly the same inner and outer circumstances. Rather, it is a hypothetical ability to have chosen differently if one had been differently psychologically disposed by some different beliefs or desires. Hume also maintains that free acts are not uncaused (or mysteriously self-caused as Immanuel Kant would have it) but caused by people's choices as determined by their beliefs, desires, and by their characters. While a decision making process exists in Hume's determinism, this process is governed by a causal chain of events.

Comtism

Auguste Comte's positivistic philosophy that metaphysics and theology should be replaced by a hierarchy of sciences from mathematics at the base to sociology at the top.

conceptualism

A doctrine in philosophy intermediate between nominalism and realism, that universals exist only within the mind and have no external or substantial reality.

Consciousness

sentience or awareness of internal and external existence.

Confucianism

An East Asian ethical and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of the early Chinese sage Confucius. It is a complex system of moral, social, political, and religious thought that has had tremendous influence on the history of Chinese civilization down to the 21st century. Some have considered it to have been the "state religion" of imperial China.

consequentialism

The belief that what ultimately matters in evaluating actions or policies of action are the consequences that result from choosing one action or policy rather than the alternative.

constructivism

The view that reality, or at least humans' knowledge of it, is a value-laden subjective construction rather than a passive acquisition of objective features.

consumerism

Attachment to material values or possessions.

contextualism

A collection of views that emphasize the context in which an action, utterance or expression occurs, and argues that, in some important respect, the action, utterance or expression can only be understood within that context. Contextualist views hold that philosophically controversial concepts, such as "meaning P", "knowing that P", "having a reason to A", and possibly even "being true" or "being right" only have meaning relative to a specified context. Some philosophers hold that context-dependence may lead to relativism; nevertheless, contextualist views are increasingly popular within philosophy.

conventionalism

The philosophical attitude which holds that fundamental principles of a certain kind are grounded on (explicit or implicit) agreements in society, rather than on external reality. Although this attitude is commonly held with respect to the rules of grammar and the principles of etiquette, its application to the propositions of law, ethics, science, mathematics, and logic is more controversial.

cosmotheism

Another name for pantheism.

creationism

Also called creation theology.

The belief that humans, life, the Earth, and the

ex nihilo) or the emergence of order from pre-existing chaos.^[4]

critical rationalism

The philosophy that tenets of science should always be criticized and questioned so as to continually prove their worth.

primary/secondary quality distinction

.

cynicism

Originally the philosophy of a group of ancient

norms, especially those that serve more of a ritualistic purpose than a practical one, and will tend to dismiss a substantial proportion of popular beliefs, conventional morality, and accepted wisdom

as obsolete or irrelevant nonsense.

D

Darwinism

The theory of biological evolution developed by English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others, stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual's ability to compete, survive, and reproduce. See also History of evolutionary thought.^[7]

day-age creationism

A type of

six days referred to in Genesis are not ordinary 24-hour days, but are much longer periods, thus interpreting Genesis as cosmic evolution

.

deconstructionism

A school and a set of methods of textual criticism aimed at understanding the assumptions and ideas that form the basis for thought and belief. Also called "deconstruction", its central concern is a radical critique of the metaphysics of the Western philosophical tradition, in which it identifies a logicentrism or "metaphysics of presence" which holds that speech-thought (the logos) is a privileged, ideal, and self-present entity, through which all discourse and meaning derive. This logocentrism is the primary target of deconstruction.

deductivism

A philosophy that holds that scientific inquiry proceeds by formulating a hypothesis in a form that could conceivably be falsified by a test on observable data.

defeatism

The acceptance of and contentedness with defeat without struggle. In everyday use, defeatism has negative connotation, and is often linked to treason and pessimism. The term is commonly used in the context of war: a soldier can be a defeatist if he or she refuses to fight because he or she thinks that the fight will be lost for sure or that it is not worth fighting for some other reason. The term can also be used in other fields, like politics, sports, psychology and philosophy.

deism

The view that reason, rather than revelation or tradition, should be the basis of belief in God. Deists reject both organized and revealed religion and maintain that reason is the essential element in all knowledge. For a "rational basis for religion" they refer to the cosmological argument (first cause argument), the teleological argument (argument from design), and other aspects of what was called natural religion. Deism has become identified with the classical belief that God created but does not intervene in the world, though this is not a necessary component of deism. A form of monotheism in which it is believed that one god exists. However, a deist rejects the idea that this god intervenes in the world. Hence any notion of special revelation is impossible, and the nature of god can only be known through reason and observation from nature. A deist thus rejects the miraculous, and the claim to knowledge made for religious groups and texts.

democratic transhumanism

A

socially progressive. It also encompasses radical democratic

political views.

deontologism

An ethical theory considered solely on duty and rights, where one has an unchanging moral obligation to abide by a set of defined principles. Thus, the ends of any action never justify the means in this ethical system. If someone were to do their moral duty, then it would not matter if that duty had negative consequences. Because of this reasoning, consequentialism is sometimes considered the philosophical antithesis of deontologism.

descriptivism

Also called the descriptivist theory of names.

A view of the nature of the meaning and reference of

proper names, generally attributed to Gottlob Frege and Bertrand Russell

. The theory consists essentially of the idea that the meanings of names are identical to the descriptions associated with them by speakers, while their referents are determined to be the objects that satisfy these descriptions.

determinism

The philosophical proposition that every event, including human cognition, decision, and action, is causally determined by an unbroken chain of prior occurrences.

dialectical materialism

The view that ideas and arguments can only exist as matter and that the subconscious protohuman does not exist. It is often considered the philosophical basis of Marxism.

dialetheism

A metaphysical doctrine according to which there are true contradictions.

disjunctivism

A direct realist view that rejects the existence of some sense data.

distributism

A cooperative economic theory in which productive property is distributed among all individuals, rather than being held by the state or in common (as in socialism) or by the few (as in capitalism).

dogma

A

philosophical movement, or any kind of organization held to be authoritative and above dispute or doubt such that it is not to be diverged from

. A dogmatic position is "established" only according to a particular point of view, and therefore of doubtful foundation.

dualism

A set of beliefs that begins with the claim that the

mind-body problem. Pluralism

holds that there are even more kinds of events or things in the world.

dynamism

A

Monads, and groups of elements that have only the essence of forces. It was developed as a reaction against the passive view of matter in philosophical mechanism

.

E

eclecticism

A conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories in particular cases.

egalitarianism

A political doctrine that holds that all people should be treated as equals.^[4]

egoism

Either a descriptive theory that maintains all conscious acts ultimately concern promoting one's self-interest, or a normative theory that maintains one should pursue one's self-interest.

eliminative materialism

An absolute version of materialism and physicalism with respect to mental entities and mental vocabulary, according to which humans' common-sense understanding of the mind (what eliminativists call folk psychology) is not a viable theory on which to base scientific investigation: behaviour and experience can only be adequately explained on the biological level. Therefore, no coherent neural basis will be found for everyday folk psychological concepts (such as belief, desire and intention, for they are illusory and therefore do not have any consistent neurological substrate. Eliminative materialists therefore believe that consciousness does not exist except as an epiphenomenon of brain function and some believe that the concept will eventually be eliminated as neuroscience progresses.

emanationism

The belief that reality necessarily proceeds from a first principle.

emergent materialism

The philosophy that asserts that the mind is an irreducible existent in some sense, albeit not in the sense of being an ontological simple, and that the study of mental phenomena is independent of other sciences.

emotionalism

An inclination to rely on or place focus on emotion.

emotivism

The

C. L. Stevenson, and it is related to the prescriptivism of R. M. Hare

.

empiricism

The doctrine that all knowledge ultimately comes from experience, denying the notion of

innate ideas or a priori knowledge about the world. It is opposed with rationalism

.

enlightened absolutism

A form of governing by rulers who were influenced by the Enlightenment (18th-century and early 19th-century Europe).

environmentalism

A concern for the preservation, restoration, or improvement of the natural environment, such as the conservation of natural resources, prevention of pollution, and certain land use actions. It often supports the struggles of indigenous peoples against the spread of globalization to their way of life, which is seen as less harmful to the environment.

Epicureanism

While often considered to be the philosophy of pleasure seeking, in fact refers to a middle-path philosophy defining happiness as success in avoiding pain, in the form of both mental worry and physical discomfort, in order to produce a state of tranquility.

epistemology

A term first used by the Scottish philosopher

justification. The term was probably first introduced in Ferrier's Institutes of Metaphysic: The Theory of Knowing and Being (1854), p. 46.^[10]

epiphenomenalism

The view in philosophy of mind according to which physical events have mental effects, but mental events have no effects of any kind. In other words, the causal relations go only one way, from physical to mental. In recent times it is usually considered a type of dualism, because it postulates physical events but also non-physical mental events; but historically it has sometimes been thought a kind of monism, because of its sharp divergence from substance dualism.

equalitarianism

Another name for egalitarianism.

essentialism

The belief and practice centered on a philosophical claim that for any specific kind of entity it is at least theoretically possible to specify a finite list of characteristics, all of which any entity must have to belong to the group defined.

eternalism

A philosophical approach to the ontological nature of time. It builds on the standard method of modeling time as a dimension in physics, to give time a similar ontology to that of space. This would mean that time is just another dimension, that future events are "already there", and that there is no objective flow of time.

ethical egoism

The

moral agents ought to do what is in their own self-interest. It is distinguished from psychological egoism and rational egoism. It contrasts with ethical altruism, which holds that moral agents have an ethical obligation to help or serve others. Ethical egoism does not, however, require moral agents to disregard the well-being of others, nor does it require that a moral agent refrains from considering the well-being of others in moral deliberation. What is in an agent's self-interest may be incidentally detrimental to, beneficial to, or neutral in its effect on others. It allows for the possibility of either as long as what is chosen is efficacious in satisfying self-interest of the agent. Ethical egoism is sometimes used to support libertarianism or anarchism

, political positions based partly on a belief that individuals should not coercively prevent others from exercising freedom of action.

ethnocentrism

The tendency to look at the world primarily from the perspective of one's own culture. It is defined as the viewpoint that "one's own group is the center of everything (better than all other cultures)," against which all other groups are judged. Ethnocentrism often entails the belief that one's own race or ethnic group is the most important and/or that some or all aspects of its culture are superior to those of other groups.

eudaimonism

A system of ethics that evaluates actions in terms of their capacity to produce happiness.

evolutionary creationism

A lesser used term for theistic evolution, the general opinion that some or all classical religious teachings about God and creation are compatible with some or all of the modern scientific understanding about biological evolution. Theistic evolution is not a theory in the scientific sense, but a particular view about how the science of evolution relates to some religious interpretations.

existentialism

The

philosophical movement

that views human existence as having a set of underlying themes and characteristics, such as anxiety, dread, freedom, awareness of death, and consciousness of existing, that are primary. That is, they cannot be reduced to or explained by a natural-scientific approach or any approach that attempts to detach itself from or rise above these themes.

experientialism

The philosophy that knowledge is to be measured according to experiences and firsthand accounts.

experimentalism

A philosophy that uses data obtained from experiments in order to ascertain the integrity of an idea or proposed concept.

Expressionism

An aesthetic and artistic movement that distorted reality for enhanced or exaggerated emotional effect. It can also apply to some literature; the works of Franz Kafka and Georg Kaiser are often said to be expressionistic, for example.

expressivism

A theory about the meaning of moral language. According to expressivism, sentences that employ moral terms–for example, "It is wrong to torture an innocent human being"–are not descriptive or fact-stating; moral terms such as "wrong," "good," or "just" do not refer to real, in-the-world properties. The primary function of moral sentences, according to expressivism, is not to assert any matter of fact, but rather to express an evaluative attitude toward an object of evaluation.^[11] Because the function of moral language is non-descriptive, moral sentences do not have any truth conditions.^[12] Hence, expressivists either do not allow that moral sentences have truth value, or rely on a notion of truth value that does not appeal to any descriptive truth conditions being met for moral sentences.

externalism

In epistemology, the theory that justification can hold elements not known to the subject of the belief.^[4]

externism

A pseudo-philosophical theory developed by fictitious genius Jára Cimrman. It deals with people's knowledge and learning process.

extropianism

Also called

extropy

.

An evolving framework of values and standards for continuously improving the human condition, originated by Max More. Extropianism describes a pragmatic consilience of transhuman thought guided by a conscious, pro-active, self-directed approach to human evolution and progress. See posthuman. Extropians were once concisely described as libertarian transhumanists, and some still hold to this standard.

F

fallibilism

The doctrine that absolute certainty about knowledge is impossible, or at least that all claims to knowledge could, in principle, be mistaken. As a formal doctrine, it is most strongly associated with Charles Sanders Peirce, who used it in his attack on foundationalism. Unlike skepticism, fallibilism does not imply the need for humans to abandon their knowledge: humans need not have logically conclusive justifications for what they know. Rather, it is an admission that because empirical knowledge can be revised by further observation, all knowledge, excepting that which is axiomatically true (such as mathematical and logical knowledge) exists in a constant state of flux.

falsifiability

The idea that a proposition or theory cannot be scientific if it does not admit the possibility of being shown to be false. For example, the proposition "All crows are black" is a scientific proposition because it can be falsified by the observation of one white crow.

fascism

A political ideology and mass movement that seeks to place the nation, defined in exclusive biological, cultural, and historical terms, above all other loyalties, and to create a mobilized national community. Many different characteristics are attributed to fascism by different scholars, but the following elements are usually seen as its integral parts: nationalism, authoritarianism, militarism, corporatism, totalitarianism, collectivism, anti-liberalism, and anti-communism.

feminism

A diverse collection of social theories, political movements, and moral philosophies, largely motivated by or concerning the experiences of women, especially in terms of their social, political, and economic situation. As a social movement, feminism largely focuses on limiting or eradicating gender inequality and promoting women's rights, interests, and issues in society.

fatalism

The view that human deliberation and actions are pointless and ineffectual in determining events, because whatever will be will be. One ancient argument, called the idle argument, went like this: "If it is fated for you to recover from your illness, then you will recover whether you call a doctor or not. Likewise, if you are fated not to recover, you will not do so even if you call a doctor. So, calling a doctor makes no difference." Arguments like this are usually rejected even by causal determinists, who may say that it may be determined that only a doctor can cure you.

fideism

In

solifidianism

.

finalism

The philosophy that any event is defined by an already-set final outcome and that all events leading up to that outcome are shaped by the end result.

formalism

1.  A certain school in the philosophy of mathematics, stressing axiomatic proofs through theorems specifically associated with David Hilbert.

2.  A school of thought in law and jurisprudence that emphasises the fairness of process over substantive outcomes. See Legal formalism.

3.  In economic anthropology, the theoretical perspective that the principles of neoclassical economics can be applied to humans' understanding of all human societies.

4.  A certain rigorous mathematical method: see formal system.

5.  A set of notations and rules for manipulating them that yield results in agreement with experiment or other techniques of calculation. These rules and notations may or may not have a corresponding mathematical semantics. In the case no mathematical semantics exists, the calculations are often said to be purely formal. See for example scientific formalism.

6.  A style of literary and artistic criticism that focuses on artistic or literary techniques in themselves, in separation from the work's social and historical context. See formalism (art), formalism (literature).

7.  A style of film criticism that focuses on the technical aspects of filmmaking (e.g., lighting, sets, costumes, etc.). The term may also refer to an avant-garde experimental film movement, often seen as odd or extremist, that was concerned with the beauty of the actual physical form of film (i.e., the celluloid itself).

foundationalism

Any

justificatory support to other beliefs, which can in turn support further derivative beliefs. Foundationalists hold that basic beliefs are justified by mental events or states (such as experiences) that do not constitute beliefs (these are called nondoxastic

mental states), or that they simply are not the type of thing that can (or needs to be) justified.

French materialism

The philosophy that holds that both the

associationist psychology and empiricism of John Locke with the totality of Isaac Newton

are correct and compatible with each other.

Freudianism

The beliefs and practice of

psychological repression; the situation of sexual desire as central to the development of the persona; and the efficacy of the "talking cure" or psychoanalytic technique.^[13][14]

functionalism

The dominant theory of mental states in modern philosophy. Functionalism was developed as an answer to the

identity theory and logical behaviorism. Its core idea is that the mental states can be accounted for without taking into account the underlying physical medium (the neurons

), instead attending to higher-level functions such as beliefs, desires, and emotions.

G

gap creationism

Also called Restitution creationism or Ruin-Reconstruction.

A particular set of Christian beliefs about the creation of the Universe and the origin of man. The concept of the Gap Theory is widely thought to have been promulgated by William Buckland and Thomas Chalmers in the early 19th century, though some adherents maintain that it can be traced back to biblical times. Certainly it became quite popular when it was promoted by the Scofield Reference Bible in 1909.

German idealism

A movement in idealism centered in Germany and traditionally beginning with Immanuel Kant's notion of transcendental idealism. Many prominent exponents include Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling.

Global Estate

The term, coined by Kimberly L. Hammersmith in 2015, which embodies the cumulative experiences, and physical and metaphysical wealth and resources of the collective being - meant to define its relevant function in scope and depth.

Gnosticism

Any of various mystical initiatory religions, sects and knowledge schools which were most prominent in the first few centuries CE. It is also applied to modern revivals of these groups and, sometimes, by analogy to all religious movements based on secret knowledge gnosis.^[4]

greedy reductionism

This term was coined by Daniel Dennett to condemn those forms of reductionism that try to explain too much with too little.

H

hedonism

The ethical view that pleasure is the greatest good, and that pleasure should be the standard in deciding which course of action to pursue. Hedonism is usually associated with a more physical, egoistic, or unrefined definition of "pleasure" than that found in the related doctrine of utilitarianism. The term may also refer to the descriptive view that people are primarily motivated by seeking pleasure and avoiding pain.

Hegelianism

A philosophy developed by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. It is sometimes summarized by one of Hegel's sayings: "The rational alone is real," meaning that all reality is capable of being expressed in rational categories. Hegel's goal was to reduce to a more synthetic unity the system of transcendental idealism.

henotheism

Devotion to a single god while accepting the existence of other gods. Coined by Max Müller, according to whom it is "monotheism in principle and a polytheism in fact". Variations on the term have been inclusive monotheism and monarchial polytheism, designed to differentiate differing forms of the phenomenon.

hereditarianism

The philosophy developed by

human behavior genetics

helped confirm hereditarianism as a partial explanation of human individual differences.

Hinduism

Arguably the oldest extant religion in the world.

historical determinism

The philosophical proposition that events in history were determined by a series of occurrences previous to the event.

historical materialism

The methodological approach to the study of society, economics, and history first articulated by

everything

that co-exists with the economic base of society (e.g. social classes, political structures, and ideologies).

historicism

The theory that claims that: 1) that there is an organic succession of developments (also known as historism or the German historismus), and 2) that local conditions and peculiarities influence the results in a decisive way. It can be contrasted with reductionist theories that suppose that all developments can be explained by fundamental principles (such as in economic determinism).

holism

The idea that all the properties of a given system cannot be determined or explained by the sum of its constituent parts alone. Instead, the system as a whole determines in an important way how the parts behave. The general principle of holism is concisely summarized by the phrase "The whole is more than the sum of its parts." Holism is often seen as the opposite of reductionism.

humanism

The range of ethical views that consider human nature to be the source of values.^[4]

humanistic naturalism

The belief that human beings, as well as plants and animals, are divine and intricate extensions of nature. Followers share a mutual respect for things created directly by nature, even though life must feed upon life for continuance. While most believers are able to adapt to modern change, naturalists prefer the fair exchange of resources, as was in the case of former agricultural and hunter-gatherer societies. Industry and technology are in exact opposition to naturalism.

hylozoism

The philosophical conjecture that all or some material things possess life, or that all life is inseparable from matter.

I

idealism

The doctrine that reality or knowledge is founded on ideas (mental experience). Depending on the specific ideal, idealism is usually juxtaposed with materialism or realism.

ignosticism

A philosophy questioning the existence of God relating to a lack of proof while at the same time arguing for a strong faith.

illusionism

A philosophy that holds that there is no material world but rather a collection of illusions formed by human consciousness that results in an environment for all humans to live in.

immaterialism

A philosophy that holds that there are no material objects, but rather that all reality is a construct of a flawed perception.

immoralism

The philosophy that man should try to strive for the perfect aesthetic of eternal life.

immortalism

The concept of existing for a potentially infinite, or indeterminate length, of time. Throughout history, humans have had the desire to live forever. What form an unending or indefinitely long human life would take, or whether it is even possible, has been the subject of much speculation, fantasy, and debate.

incompatibilism

The belief that free will and determinism are not logically compatible categories. Contrast compatibilism.

indeterminism

The philosophical belief contradictory to determinism: that there are events that do not correspond with determinism (and therefore are uncaused in some sense).

individualism

In political philosophy, the view that the rights or well-being of individuals are to be protected rather than the rights or well-being of groups such as nations or states, ideologies (such as communism or democracy), or religious communities (such as Christendom). Individualism is often associated with classical liberalism and opposed to the various sorts of communalism and nationalism.

inductionism

The scientific philosophy by which scientific laws can be "induced" from sets of data. As an example, one might measure the strength of electrical forces at varying distances from charges and induce the inverse square law of electrostatics. See also inductive reasoning.

inductivism

The philosophy that holds that scientific research is guided by the various observations and data produced by previous science experiments; In other words, that science progresses in a direction that has prior experimental data. It exists both in a classical naive version, which has been highly influential, and in various more sophisticated versions. The naive version, which trace back to thinkers such as

Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī^[15] and David Hume

, says that general statements (theories) have to be based on empirical observations, which are subsequently generalized into statements that can be regarded as true or probably true.

infinitism

The view that knowledge may be justified by an infinite chain of reasons.

innatism

The doctrine that holds that the mind is born with ideas or knowledge, and is not merely a "

senses

.

instrumentalism

The idea that knowledge should be judged by its usefulness and that the truth-value of knowledge is irrelevant. Generally invoked in philosophy of science.

intellectualism

The doctrine about the possibility of deriving knowledge from reason alone, intellectualism can stand for a general approach emphasising the importance of learning and logical thinking. Criticism of this attitude, sometimes summed up as Left Bank, caricatures intellectualism's faith in the mind and puts it in opposition to emotion, instinct, and primitivist values in general.

internalism

In epistemology, the view that all evidence involved in justification must be knowable to the subject.

intentionalism

A philosophy that questions the underpinnings of original intent and explores whether or not humans are the source of their own actions or are controlled by a higher power.

interactionism

A philosophy that explores the relationship between cause and effect in regards to the human perception of the Universe.

interbehaviorism

Founded by

Jacob Robert Kantor

before Skinner's writings and currently worked by L. Hayes; E. Ribes; and S. Bijou. centered in the inter behavior of organisms, field theory of behavior; emphasis on human behavior.

interpretivism

In epistemology, the view that all knowledge is a matter of interpretation.

legal interpretivism

A school of thought in the philosophy of law, in which law is not considered to be a set of data or physical facts, but what lawyers aim to construct. It holds that there is no separation between law and morality although there are differences (this is the opposite of the main claim of legal positivism). According to legal interpretivism, law is not immanent in nature nor do legal values and principles exist independently and outside of the legal practice itself (this is the opposite of the main claim of natural law theory).

intrinsicism

A philosophy that holds that the intrinsic value of an object cannot be judged by humans.

intuitionism

In the

preintuitionism), is an approach to mathematics

as the constructive mental activity of humans. That is, mathematics does not consist of analytic activities wherein deep properties of existence are revealed and applied. Instead, logic and mathematics are the application of internally consistent methods to realize more complex mental constructs.

irrationalism

A philosophy that claims that science is inferior to

intuition, with art and the conquest of the aesthetic being the ultimate transcendence of the human condition

.

irrealism

A philosophy combining the phenomenalism and physicalism in epistemology with the view that either could be used interchangeably as agents of free will and study of the aesthetic.

Islamism

A set of political ideologies derived from various religious views of Muslim fundamentalists, which hold that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system that governs the legal, economic, and social imperatives of the state. Islamist movements seek to re-shape the state by implementing a conservative formulation of Sharia law. Islamists regard themselves as Muslims rather than Islamists, while moderate Muslims reject this notion.

J

Jainism

A

dharmic religion centered around asceticism and ahimsa, or nonviolence.^[4]

Jansenism

A branch of

Cornelius Otto Jansen

.

Judaism

A

Abrahamic religion descended from the ancient Hebrews

.

K

Kantianism

The philosophy of Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher born in Königsberg, Germany (now Kaliningrad, Russia). The terms Kantianism or Kantian can refer to contemporary positions in philosophy of mind, epistemology, and ethics.

kathenotheism

An extension of henotheism, from kath hena theon – "one god at a time".

Kierkegaardianism

A set of philosophical, theological, and psychological positions based on the work of the 19th-century Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. Kierkegaard's work focuses on the existing individual and the struggle to become an authentic individual. Kierkegaard's work was among the most important intellectual foundations for the 20th-century philosophical movement known as existentialism.

L

legalism

In the Western sense, an approach to the analysis of legal questions characterized by abstract "logical" reasoning focused on the applicable legal text, such as a constitution, legislation, or case law, rather than on the social, economic, or political context. Legalism has occurred both in civil and common law traditions. Legalism may endorse the notion that the pre-existing body of authoritative legal materials already contains a uniquely pre-determined "right answer" to any legal problem that may arise. In legalism, the task of the judge is to ascertain the answer to a legal question mechanically.^[4]

legal interpretivism

See interpretivism.

legal naturalism

A term coined by

Natural Law. Taiwo considered it the manifestation of Natural Law in a dialectical materialist

context.

legal positivism

A school of thought in the philosophy of law that claims that laws are made (deliberately or unintentionally) by human beings, and that there is no inherent or necessary connection between the validity of law and what is ethical or moral.

liberalism

In politics, a position that favors liberty as a political value. Liberalism has taken many meanings throughout history, but commonalities include a focus on individual liberty, democratic republicanism (liberal democracy), and equality under the law.

libertarianism

1.  In metaphysics, the claim that free will exists. In this sense it is generally opposed to determinism (but see compatibilism).

2.  In political philosophy, either of two anti-statist political positions.

linguistic relativism

The idea that differences in language are related to differences in cognition of the language users. It is an idea inferred from

Sapir–Whorf hypothesis

.

logical atomism

Bertrand Russell developed logical atomism in an attempt to identify the atoms of thought – pieces of thought that cannot be divided into smaller pieces of thought.

logical behaviorism

Established by Oxford philosopher Gilbert Ryle in his book The Concept of Mind (1949).

logical positivism

Also called logical empiricism, rational empiricism, and neo-positivism.

A philosophy of science originating in the Vienna Circle in the 1920s which holds that philosophy should aspire to the same sort of rigor as science. Logical positivism asserts that philosophy should provide strict criteria for judging sentences true, false, and meaningless. Although the logical positivists held a wide range of beliefs on many matters, they all shared an interest in science and deep skepticism of the theological and metaphysical. Following Ludwig Wittgenstein, many subscribed to the correspondence theory of truth, although some, like Neurath, believed in coherentism. They believed that all knowledge should be based on logical inference from simple "protocol sentences" grounded in observable facts. Hence many supported forms of realism, materialism, philosophical naturalism, and empiricism.

logicism

A school of thought in the

reducible to logic.^[16] Bertrand Russell and Alfred North Whitehead championed this theory fathered by Gottlob Frege. Frege gave up on the project after Russell recognized a paradox exposing an inconsistency in naive set theory. Russell and Whitehead continued on with the project in their Principia Mathematica.^[17]

M

Manichaeism

One of the major ancient religions. Though its organized form is mostly extinct today, a revival has been attempted under the name of neo-Manichaeism. However, most of the writings of the founding prophet Mani have been lost. Some scholars and anti-Catholic polemicists argue that its influence subtly continues in Western Christian thought via Saint Augustine of Hippo, who converted to Christianity from Manichaeism and whose writing continues to be enormously influential among Catholic and Protestant theologians.

Marxism

A set of philosophical, political and economic positions and movements based on the work of

class struggle within dialectical materialism. Marxism was the intellectual foundation for the 20th-century political movement known as communism, and was developed into various factions such as Leninism, Stalinism, Maoism, and Trotskyism

, each hewing to the ideas of a particular political leader.

materialism

The philosophical view that the only thing that can truly be said to 'exist' is matter; that fundamentally, all things are composed of "material" and all phenomena are the result of material interactions.

Mazdaism

The religion that acknowledges the divine authority of Ahura Mazda, proclaimed by Zoroaster (see Zoroastrianism) to be the one uncreated creator of all (god).

mechanism

The theory that all natural phenomena can be explained by physical causes. It can be contrasted with vitalism, the philosophical theory that vital forces are active in living organisms, so that life cannot be explained solely by mechanism.

meliorism

The idea in metaphysics that humans can, through their interference with natural processes, produce an improvement over the natural outcome. It is at the foundation of contemporary liberal democracy and human rights, and is contrasted by the concept of apologism.

mentalism

The view, in

substance dualism, which is the view that the mind and the body (or brain) are two distinct kinds of things, which nevertheless interact (somehow) with one another. Although this dualistic view of the mind-body connection entails mentalism, mentalism does not entail dualism. Jerry Fodor and Noam Chomsky

have been two of mentalism's most ardent recent defenders.

metaphysical naturalism

The

worldview in which nature is all there is and all things supernatural

do not exist (including spirits and souls, non-natural values, and universals as they are commonly conceived).

metaphysics

A traditional branch of

cosmology, the study of the origin, fundamental structure, nature, and dynamics of the universe. Some include epistemology

as another central focus of metaphysics, but other philosophers question this.

methodological behaviorism

The objective study of third-person behavior; the data of psychology must be inter-subjectively verifiable; no theoretical prescriptions. It has been absorbed into general experimental and cognitive psychology.

methodological naturalism

The view that philosophy does not precede or provide the foundations for science but that science and philosophy are continuous with one another, employing roughly the same methodological principles at different levels of generality. Generally, methodological naturalists have a high level of respect for the scientific method, thinking that it is the best method for uncovering the truth.

methodological reductionism

The idea that explanations of things, such as scientific explanations, ought to be continually reduced to the very simplest entities possible (but no simpler).

Occam's Razor

forms the basis of this type of reductionism.

methodological relativism

The idea that a researcher must suspend his or her own cultural biases while attempting to understand beliefs and behaviors within their local contexts. See also ethnocentrism.

modal realism

The view most notably put forth by

David Lewis that possible worlds

are as concretely real as the actual world.

modernism

The series of reforming cultural movements in

literature, and the applied arts which emerged roughly in the period between 1884 and 1914. Modernism affirms the power of human beings to create, improve, and reshape their environments, with the aid of scientific knowledge, technology, and practical experimentation. The term covers many political, cultural, and artistic movements rooted in the changes in Western society at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.^[22]

Mohism

The philosophy of Chinese philosopher Mozi, distinguished for its principles of universal love and mutual (utilitarian) benefit.

Molinism

A religious doctrine that attempts to reconcile the

Jesuit theologian Luis de Molina

.

monism

The metaphysical and theological view that there is only one principle, essence, substance, or energy. Monism is distinguished from dualism, which holds that ultimately there are exactly two such principles, and from pluralism, which holds that there are many such principles.

monistic theism

The type of monotheism found in Hinduism. This type of theism is different from the Semitic religions as it encompasses

Dvaita

, which differs in that it is dualistic, as God is separate and not panentheistic.

monolatrism

The philosophy that holds that there are many gods, with a worshiper of any god receiving his or her blessing.

monotheism

The belief in a single, universal, all-encompassing

Abrahamic religions

are considered monotheist.

moral absolutism

The position that there are absolute standards against which moral questions can be judged, and that certain actions are right or wrong, regardless of the context of the action; the belief in a single set of "rights" and "wrongs", with no variation. These are known by all people and to not respect them is a choice.

moral realism

The conjunction of the following three claims: moral judgments express beliefs, these beliefs are either true or false, and therefore objective moral values exist. It contrasts with expressivist or non-cognitivist theories of moral judgment, error theories of moral judgments, fictionalist theories of moral judgment, and constructivist or relativist theories of the nature of moral facts.

moral relativism

The belief that there are no moral facts independent of an individual's or culture's beliefs or desires. Depending on the version of relativism, a given moral statement is true only if an individual (in the case of ethical subjectivism) believes it to be, or if a culture (in the case of cultural relativism) believes it to be true.

moral universalism

The view that there are moral propositions that apply universally.

mysticism

The pursuit of achieving communion,

identity with, or conscious awareness of ultimate reality, the divinity, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, or insight. Traditions may include a belief in the literal existence of dimensional realities beyond empirical perception

, or a belief that a true human perception of the world goes beyond current logical reasoning or intellectual comprehension.

N

naïve realism

Also called direct realism and common sense realism.

The common view of the world including the claims that it is as it is perceived, that objects have the properties attributed to them, and that they maintain these properties when not being perceived.

nativism

An opposition to immigration that originated in United States politics, that distinguishes between Americans who were born in the United States, and "first-generation" immigrants. It is based on fears the immigrants do not share supposedly American values.

naturalism

Any of several philosophical stances, typically those descended from materialism and pragmatism, that do not distinguish the supernatural (including strange entities like non-natural values, and universals as they are commonly conceived) from nature. Naturalism does not necessarily claim that phenomena or hypotheses commonly labeled as supernatural do not exist or are wrong, but insists that all phenomena and hypotheses can be studied by the same methods and therefore anything considered supernatural is either nonexistent, unknowable, or not inherently different from natural phenomena or hypotheses.

necessitarianism

A metaphysical principle that denies that any facts or events are contingent or indeterminate, from human actions to the laws of physics themselves.

neo-Confucianism

A form of Confucianism primarily developed during the Song dynasty, as a response to the dominance of Taoism and Buddhism at the time. Neo-Confucians such as Zhu Xi recognized that the Confucianism lacked a thorough metaphysical system, and so synthesized one based on previous Confucian concepts. There were many competing views within the Neo-Confucian community, but overall, a system emerged that resembled both the Buddhist and Taoist thought of the time.

neo-Marxism

A loose term for various 20th-century approaches that amend or extend

Marxist theory, usually by incorporating elements from other intellectual traditions (such as critical theory).^[23]

neo-Platonism

A school of philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century A.D. The school was characterized by a systematization of Platonic metaphysics along with a pursuit of mystical union with the divine, had an enormous influence to centuries of Christian, Jewish, and Islamic philosophy and religion.

New Confucianism

A new movement of Confucianism since the 20th century applying Confucianism to modern times. Not to be confused with neo-Confucianism.

nihilism

The philosophical view that the world, and especially human existence, is without meaning, purpose, comprehensible truth, or essential value. It is more often a charge leveled against a particular idea than a position to which someone is overtly subscribed. Movements such as

punk

have been described by various observers as "nihilist".

nominalism

The belief that universals or mental concepts have no objective reality but exist only as words or "names" (Latin nomina).

non-cognitivism

The

truth-value. This view should be distinguished from moral realism, skepticism, subjectivism, relativism, and nihilism

; proponents of these views avow that moral statements are either true or false.

nontheism

The absence of belief in both the existence and non-existence of a

Zen Buddhism

.

O

objective idealism

An idealistic metaphysics that postulates that there is in an important sense only one perceiver, and that this perceiver is one with that which is perceived.

objectivism

In ethics, the belief that certain acts are objectively right or wrong.

occasionalism

The philosophical theory about causation stating that created substances cannot be efficient causes of events. Instead, all events are taken to be caused directly by God Himself. (A related theory, which has been called 'occasional causation', also denies a link of efficient causation between mundane events, but may differ as to the identity of the true cause that replaces them).

Old Earth creationism

A variant of the

age of the Earth, in comparison to Young Earth creationism

.

Omphalos creationism

Named after the title of an 1857 book,

age of the Earth and Universe can be taken as reliable. The idea has seen some revival in the 20th century by some modern creationists

, who have extended the argument to light that appears to originate in far-off stars and galaxies, although many other creationists reject this explanation (and also believe that Adam and Eve had no navels).

ontological reductionism

The idea that everything that exists is made from a small number of basic substances that behave in regular ways. Compare monism.

ontologism

The ideological system that maintains that God and divine ideas are the first object of humans' intelligence and that the intuition of God is the first act of their intellectual knowledge. Note that Martin Heidegger used the term Onto-theology to refer to answering questions of being with direct reference to belief in God.

open theism

A religious approach combining

Classical Theism as well as Ancient Greek beliefs that question the ideas of free will and the timeless nature of God

.

operationalism

The philosophy of defining a

observations

.

optimism

Historically, the philosophical position that this is the best of all possible worlds, usually associated with

Gottfried Leibniz

. Colloquially, the term is often used to refer to a cheerful or positive worldview.

organicism

A philosophical orientation that asserts that reality is best understood as an organic whole. By definition it is close to

Benedict Spinoza and Constantin Brunner

are two philosophers whose thought is best understood as organicist.

orthocracy

A philosophical logical scheme that asserts minimal deviation of practice from theory during management of material and immaterial wealth under strict adherence to ethical principles of human communities. By definition it is close to orthodoxy. Aristoteles and Socrates are two philosophers whose thoughts could point to orthocracy.

Zen Buddhism

A fusion of

dhyana referring to a particular meditative

state.

Zoroastrianism

The religion and philosophy based on the teachings ascribed to the prophet Zoroaster (Zarathustra, Zartosht).

See also

• Outline of philosophy
• List of philosophies
• Index of philosophy
• List of thought processes

References

External links

Look up Appendix:Glossary of philosophy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• The Ism Book: A Field Guide to Philosophy
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• Philosophical dictionary
• Internet philosophy guide^{[dead link]}Archived 2007-06-09 at the Wayback Machine
• Philosophy Primer Archived 2007-03-08 at the Wayback Machine
• Philosophy terms
• Formal glossary of philosophy on Wikiversity