Philosophy Schools And Theories

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absolutism

Back 1

the thoery that there is an ultimate reality in which all differences are reconciled

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agnosticism

Back 2

the position that the ultimate answer to all fundamental enquiries is that we do not know

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altruism

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the principle of living and acting in the interests of others rather than oneself

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antinomianism

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the view that ordinary moral laws are not applicable to christians, whose lives are governed, it is said, by divine grace

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asceticism

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the belief that the withdrawal from the phsical world into the inner world of the spirit is the highest attainable good

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atheism

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rejection of the concept of god as a workable hypothesis

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atomism

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the belief that the entire universe is composed of distict and indivisble units

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conceptualism

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the doctrine that universal ideas are neither created by finite (human) minds, nor entirely apart from an absolute mind (god)

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critical idealism

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the concept that man cannot determine whether there is anything beyond his own experience

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critical realism

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the theory that reality is tripartite, that in addition to the mental and physical aspects of reality, there is a third aspect called essences

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criticism

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the theory that the path of true knowledge lies midway between dogmatism and scepticism

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determinism

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the belief that the universe follows a fixed or pre determined pattern

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dialectical materialism

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the theory that reality is strictly material and is based on a struggle between opposing forces, with occasional interludes of harmony

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dogmatism

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assertion of a belief without authoritative support

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dualism

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the belief that the world consists of two radically independent and absolute elements, e.g. good and evil, spirit and matter

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egoism

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in ethics the belief that the serving of ones own interests is the highest end

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empiricism

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rejection of all a priori knowledge in favour of experience and induction

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evolutionism

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the concept of the universe as a progression of interrelated phenomena

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existentialism

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denial of objective universal values man must create values for himself through action; the self is the ultimate reality

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fatalism

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the doctrine that what will happen will happen and nothing we do or do not will make any difference

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hedonism

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the doctrine that pleasure is the highest good

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humanism

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any system that regards human interest and the mind as paramount in the universe

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hylozoism

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the view that all objects in the universe are invested with life and are responsive to eachother

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idealism

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any system that regards thought or the idea as the basis either of knowledge or existence; in ethics, the search of the best of the highest

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instrumentalism

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the concept of ideas as instruments, rather than as goals of living

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interactionism

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a theory of the relationship between mind and body - physical events can cause mental events, and vice versa

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intuitionism

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the doctrine that the perception of truth is by intuition, not analysis

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materialism

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the doctrine that denies the independent existence of the spirit, and asserts the existence of only one substance - matter; belief that physical well being is paramount

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meliorism

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the belief that the world is capable of improvement, and that man has the power of helping in its betterment, a position between optimism and pessimism

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monism

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belief in only one ultimate reality, whatever its nature

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mysticism

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belief that the ultimate reality lies in direct contact with the divine

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naturalism

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a position that seeks to explain all phenomena by means of strictly natural (as opposed to supernatural) catergories

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neutral monism

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theory that reality is neither physical nor spiritual, but capable of expressing itself as either

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nominalism

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the doctrine that general terms have no corresponding reality eitheer in or out of the mind and are in effect nothing more than words

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optimism

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any system that holds the universe is the best of all possible ones and that all will work for the best

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panpsychism

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the theory that the world is rendered more comprehensible on the assumption that every object has a soul or mind

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pantheism

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the belief that god is identical with the universe

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personalism

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the theory that ultimate reality consists of a plurality of spiritual beings or independent persons

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pessimism

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belief that the universe is the worst possible and that all is doomed to evil

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phenominalism

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theory that reality is only appearance

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pluralism

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belief that there are more than two irreducible components of reality

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positivism

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the doctrine that man can have no knowledge except of phenomena and that the knowledge of phenomena is relative not absolute

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pragmatism

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a method that makes practical consequences the test of truth

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rationalism

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the theory that reason alone without the aid of experience can arrive at the basic reality of the universe

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realism

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the doctrine that real terms have an existence

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relativism

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rejection of the concept of absolute

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scepticism

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the doctrine that no facts can be certainly known

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sensationalism

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the theory that sensations are the ultimate and real components of the world

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structuralism

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a method of approach. in linguistics the theory that language is best described in terms of its structural units; in social sciences the view that the key to the understanding of observed phenomena lies in the underlying structures and system of social organisation

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theism

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acceptance of the cobept of god as a workable hypothesis

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transcendentalism

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belief in an ultimate reality that transcends human experience