Philosophy

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Ch.1

Archetype

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Basic image that represents our conception of the essence of a certain type of person

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Philosophical Archetype

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A philosopher who represents an original or influential point of view in a way that significantly affects philosophers and nonphilosophers

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Relativism

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Belief that knowledge is determined by specific qualities of the observer, including age, ethnicity, gender, cultural conditioning

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Knowledge

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True belief

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Theoretical Knowledge

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The accurate compilation and assessment of factual and systematic relationships

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Belief

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Conviction or trust that a claim is true; an individual's subjective mental state; distinct from knowledge

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Mere Belief

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A conviction that something is true for which the only evidence is the sincerity of the believer

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Wisdom

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Fundemental understanding of reality as it relates to living a good life; reasonable and practical, focusing on the true circumstances and character of each individual; good judgment about complex situations involving reflection, insight, and a plausible conception of the human condition

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Willed Ignorance

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An attitude of indifference to the possibility of error or enlightenment that holds on to beliefs regardless of the facts

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Ch. 2

Sage

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Achetypal figure who combines religious inspiration and extraordinary insight into the human condition; Latin sapiens "wise"

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Tao

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Literally "way" or "path". Source of all existence, the principle of all things, the way or path of the universe, or the moral law

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Yin

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In ancient Chinese metaphysics, weak, negative, dark, and destructive natural force or principle; Earth

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Yang

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In ancient Chinese metaphysics, strong, positive, light, and constructive natural force of principal; Heaven

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Wu Wei

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Literally "not to act", refers to unnatural or demanding action

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Humanism

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Name given to any philosophy that emphasizes human welfare and dignity; belief that human intelligence and effort are capable of improving conditions in the here and now

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Chung-yung

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Literally "centrality and universality" the Golden Mean of Confucius, consisting of moderation and normality, universal moral law, also equilibrium or harmony

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Te

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Morally neutral virtue; potency, the power to affect others without using physical force

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Li

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"Ceremony", encompasses rite, customs, and conventions ranging from ritual sacrifices honoring ones ancestors to everyday etiquette and good manners

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Chun-tzu

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"The Lord's son"; originally the sovereign himself or a "cultivated gentleman"; a great noble soul

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Jen

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General human virture; translated as human, humane, humanitarian, humanity, and benevolence; can mean both humankind and kindness

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Hsiao-jen

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Small or vulgar man

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Ascetic

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Individual who turns away from pleasure and severely limits all sensual appetites in order to achieve salvation or peace of mind

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Nirvana

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Annihilation of the ego; a state of emptiness or "nothingness", a state of bliss

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Bodhisattva

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An enlightened being who voluntarily postpones his own nirvana in order to help all other to help all other conscious life-forms find "supreme release"

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Karma

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According to Buddhist tradition, the law of moral causation (cause and effect), it includes past and present actions and is not to be confused with fate or predestination

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Four Noble Truths

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Foundation of Buddhas teachings

1) to exist is to suffer.

2) self-centeredness is the chief cause of human suffering.

3) the cause of suffering can be understood and rooted out.

4) suffering can be alleviated by following the Eightfold Path.

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Eightfold Path

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Buddha's prescription for rooting out suffering:

right understanding, purpose, speech, conduct, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, meditation

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Ch. 3

Barbarian

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From a rude "barber" noise used to mock dialects considered crude by ancient Greeks; considered "less than human" or uncivilized

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Sophos

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Sage or wise man

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Ethnocentrism

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"The race is the center"; belief that customs and beliefs of one's own culture are inherently superior to all others

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Cosmos

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"Ordered whole"; first used by Pythagoreans to characterized the universe as an ordered whole consisting of harmonies of contrasting elements

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Psyche

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"Soul"; in today's terms, combination of mind and soul, including capacity for reflective thinking

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Logos

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One of the richest and most complex terms in ancient philosophy; associated meaning include:

"intelligence", "speech", "discourse", "thought", "reason". Root of Log (record). According to Heraclitus, the rule to which all things are accomplished and the law found in all things

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Rational Discourse

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The interplay of carefully argued ideas; the use of reason to order, clarify, and identify reality and truth

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Reductio Ad Absurdum

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"reduce to absurdity", form of argument that refutes an opponents position by showing that accepting it leads to absurd, unacceptable, or contradictory conclutions

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Atomism

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Developed by Leucippus and Democritus. Materialistic view that the universe consists entirely of empty space and ultimately simple enitities that combine to form objects

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Atoms

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Greek word: atomos, "indivisible", "uncuttable"; minute material particles; the ultimate material constituents of all things. Consists of properties:

size, shape, position, motion. But lacks:

color, taste, temperature

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Sophists

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Fifth century B.C.E.; teachers of rhetoric (who were paid); relativists who taught that might makes right, truth is matter or appearance and convention, power is the ultimate value

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Relativism

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Belief that knowledge is determined by specific qualities of the observer, including age, ethnicity, gender, cultural conditioning

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Pragmatism

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"Deed"; ideas have meaning or truth value to the extent that they produce practical results and effectively further our aims

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Moral Realism

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Pragmatic social philosophy unfettered by moral considerations; expressed in the formula "might makes right"

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Ch. 4

Archetypal (paradigmatic) individual

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A special class of teachers, philosophers, and religious figures whose nature becomes a standard by which a culture judges the "ideal" human being

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Socratic dialect, Socratic method

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Question-and-answer technique used by Socrates to draw truth out of his pupils, often by means of achieving a clearer, more precise definition of a key term or concept

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Irony

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Communication on at least two levels, a literal or obvious level and a hidden or real level. Favored by Socrates to keep listeners alert and involved

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Virtue

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"That at which something excels" or "excellence of function"

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Teche

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"Art", "skill", "craft", "trade", "system". Term that Socrates used when he asserted that virtue is the knowledge of wisdom

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Intellectualism

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Term used to refer to the claim that the behavior is always controlled by beliefs about what is good and the means to do good