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Philosophy Concepts

Big ideas in metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, logic and political philosophy.

97 cardsGrades 9–12, College, Adult#philosophy#ethics

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  • MetaphysicsConcept
    The study of the basic nature of reality
  • EpistemologyConcept
    The study of knowledge and how we know things
  • EthicsConcept
    The study of right and wrong, good and bad
  • LogicConcept
    The study of correct reasoning
  • AestheticsConcept
    The study of beauty and art
  • OntologyConcept
    The study of what exists
  • DualismConcept
    The view that mind and body are distinct kinds of things
  • MonismConcept
    The view that reality is made of one kind of thing
  • MaterialismConcept
    The view that everything is physical
  • IdealismConcept
    The view that reality is fundamentally mental
  • EmpiricismConcept
    Knowledge comes mainly from sense experience
  • RationalismConcept
    Knowledge comes mainly from reason
  • SkepticismConcept
    Doubt about whether we can have certain knowledge
  • A prioriConcept
    Knowable independent of experience
  • A posterioriConcept
    Knowable only through experience
  • Analytic statementConcept
    True by the meaning of its terms
  • Synthetic statementConcept
    True or false depending on how the world is
  • Epistemic justificationConcept
    Good reasons for a belief
  • SolipsismConcept
    The view that only one's own mind is certain to exist
  • CogitoConcept
    'I think, therefore I am'; Descartes' starting point
  • Free willConcept
    The ability to choose among alternatives
  • DeterminismConcept
    Every event is caused by prior events
  • CompatibilismConcept
    Free will and determinism can both be true
  • Libertarianism (free will)Concept
    We have free will and determinism is false
  • Mind-body problemConcept
    How mental states relate to physical states
  • Personal identityConcept
    What makes someone the same person over time
  • ConsciousnessConcept
    Subjective awareness and experience
  • QualiaConcept
    The felt quality of experiences, like redness
  • UtilitarianismConcept
    The right action produces the greatest good for the greatest number
  • DeontologyConcept
    Morality is about duties and rules, whatever the outcome
  • Virtue ethicsConcept
    Morality is about developing good character
  • Categorical imperativeConcept
    Kant's rule to act only as you would will everyone to act
  • ConsequentialismConcept
    An action's rightness depends on its results
  • Moral relativismConcept
    Moral truths depend on culture or individual
  • Moral objectivismConcept
    Some moral claims are true regardless of opinion
  • EgoismConcept
    People should act in their own self-interest
  • AltruismConcept
    Acting for the benefit of others
  • Social contract theoryConcept
    Political authority comes from an agreement among people
  • Natural rightsConcept
    Rights people have simply by being human
  • Justice as fairnessConcept
    Rawls' idea that just principles are those chosen behind a veil of ignorance
  • Veil of ignoranceConcept
    Choosing rules without knowing your place in society
  • ExistentialismConcept
    Individuals create their own meaning through free choices
  • NihilismConcept
    The view that life lacks inherent meaning or value
  • AbsurdismConcept
    Seeking meaning in a universe that offers none; Camus
  • StoicismConcept
    Peace comes from accepting what we cannot control
  • EpicureanismConcept
    The good life is pleasure understood as calm and freedom from pain
  • Cynicism (ancient)Concept
    Living simply and in accordance with nature, rejecting convention
  • PragmatismConcept
    The truth of an idea lies in its practical effects
  • PhenomenologyConcept
    Study of the structures of experience
  • HermeneuticsConcept
    Theory of interpretation
  • PositivismConcept
    Only knowledge from scientific observation is valid
  • Logical positivismConcept
    Meaningful statements must be verifiable or logically true
  • FalsifiabilityConcept
    Karl Popper's idea that scientific claims must be testable and refutable
  • Paradigm shiftConcept
    A major change in scientific thinking; Kuhn
  • Occam's razorConcept
    Prefer the simplest explanation
  • Problem of inductionConcept
    We cannot logically prove that the future will resemble the past
  • Problem of evilConcept
    How can evil exist if a perfect god exists?
  • TheodicyConcept
    An attempt to explain evil in a world made by a good god
  • Cosmological argumentConcept
    Argument for a first cause of the universe
  • Teleological argumentConcept
    Argument from apparent design
  • Ontological argumentConcept
    Argument for god from the concept of a perfect being
  • Pascal's wagerConcept
    A practical argument about whether to believe in god
  • AgnosticismConcept
    The view that the existence of god is unknown or unknowable
  • Allegory of the caveConcept
    Plato's image of people mistaking shadows for reality
  • Theory of formsConcept
    Plato's view that ideal abstract forms are the true reality
  • Golden meanConcept
    Aristotle's idea that virtue lies between extremes
  • EudaimoniaConcept
    Flourishing or living well
  • TelosConcept
    Purpose or end of a thing
  • Trolley problemConcept
    A thought experiment about choosing to harm one to save many
  • Thought experimentConcept
    Imagined scenario used to test an idea
  • Brain in a vatConcept
    Thought experiment questioning how we know our experiences are real
  • Ship of TheseusConcept
    Puzzle: is a ship the same if all its parts are replaced?
  • Chinese roomConcept
    Searle's argument that running a program is not the same as understanding
  • Turing testConcept
    A test of whether a machine's conversation is indistinguishable from a human's
  • Experience machineConcept
    Nozick's thought experiment about whether pleasure is all that matters
  • Social justiceConcept
    Fair distribution of advantages and burdens in society
  • Distributive justiceConcept
    Fair allocation of resources
  • LibertyConcept
    Freedom from unjust restraint
  • Harm principleConcept
    Mill: society may limit freedom only to prevent harm to others
  • PaternalismConcept
    Overriding someone's choices for their own good
  • Tragedy of the commonsConcept
    Shared resources are overused when each acts alone
  • AuthorityConcept
    The right to command and be obeyed
  • Civil disobedienceConcept
    Openly breaking an unjust law to appeal to conscience
  • AnarchismConcept
    The view that the state is unnecessary or harmful
  • PluralismConcept
    Acceptance of multiple values and views
  • RelativismConcept
    Truth or value depends on perspective
  • HedonismConcept
    Pleasure is the highest good
  • MeritocracyConcept
    Position based on ability and achievement
  • AuthenticityConcept
    Living true to one's own values
  • Bad faithConcept
    Sartre's term for denying one's freedom
  • The OtherConcept
    A concept in philosophy about how we recognize those different from us
  • IntentionalityConcept
    The mind's property of being about something
  • EmergenceConcept
    Complex properties arising from simpler parts
  • ReductionismConcept
    Explaining a whole by its parts
  • HolismConcept
    The whole has properties not found in its parts
  • SyllogismConcept
    A deductive argument with two premises and a conclusion
  • SoundnessConcept
    A valid argument with true premises

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