Glossary 2

Anthropomorphism - the projection of human attributes onto nonhuman things.

Associationism - the philosophical belief that mental phenomena, such as learning, remembering, and imagining, can be explained in terms of the laws of association.

Cosmology - the study of the origin, structure, and processes governing the universe.

Cynicism - The belief that the best life is one lived close to nature and away from the rules and regulations of society.

Deduction - The method of reasoning by which conclusions must follow from ceratin assumptions, principles, or concepts. If there are five people in a room, for example, one can deduce that there are also four; or if it is assumed that everything in nature exists for a purpose, then one can conclude that humans, too, exist for a purpose. Deductive reasoning proceeds from the general to the particular.

Dogmatist - According to the skeptics, any person claiming to have arrived at an undisputable truth.

Dualist - One who believes that a person consists of two separate entities: a mind which accounts for one mental expericence and rationality; and a body, which functions according to the same biological and mechanical principles as do the bodies of non-human animals.

Elementism - the belief that complex processes can be understood by studying the elements of which they consist.

Empiricism - The belief that all knowledge is derived from experience, especially sensory experience.

Epicureanism - The belief that the best life is one of long-term pleasure resulting from moderation.

Hedonism - The belief that the good life life consisits of seeking pleasure and avoiding pain.

Humanism - A viewpoint that existed during the Renaissance. It emphasized four themes: Individualism, a personal realtionship with God, interest in classical wisdom, and a negative attitude toward Aristotle's philosophy.

Induction - The method of reasoning that moves from the particular to the general. After a large number of individual instances are observed, a theme of principle common to all of them might be inferred. Dedcutive reasoning starts with some assumption, whereas inductive reasoning does not. Inductive reasoning proceeds from the particular to the general.

Introspection -The examinaiton of one's subjective experiences.

Neoplatonism - Philosophy that emphasized the most mystical aspects of Plato's philosophy. Transcendental experiences were considered the most significant type of human experience.

Nihilism - the belief that there is no certain truth, and even if there were, it could not be communicated from one person to another. The Sophists were nihilists.

Nominalism - The belief that so-called universals are nothing more than verbal labels or mental habits that are used to denote classes of experience.

Occam's Razor -The belief that of several, equally effectinve alternative explanations, the one that makes the fewest assumptions should be accepted.

Physis - a primary substance or element from which everthing is thought to be derived.

Positivism - The belief that only those objects or events that can be experienced directly should be the obhect of scientific inquiry. The positivist actively avoids metaphysical speculations.

Realism - The belief that abstract unversls exist and that empirical events are only manifestations of those universals.

Reductionism - the attempt to explain objects or events in one domain by using terminology, concepts, laws, or principles from another domain. Explaining observable phenomena (domain 1) in terms of atomic theory (domain 2) would be an example; explaining human behavior and cognition (domain 1) in terms of biocheical principles (domain 2) would be another. In a sense, it can be said that events in domain 1 are reduced to events in domain 2.

Scholasticism - The synthsis of Aristotlian philosophy with Christian teachings.

Scientism - The almost religious belief that science can answer all questions and solve all problems

Skepticism - The belief that all beliefs can be proved false; thus, to avoid the frustration of being wrong, it is best to believe nothing.

Solipcism - the belief that a person's subjective reality is the only reality that exists and can be known.

Sophism - the belief that "truth" is what people think it to be. To convince others that something is "true," one needs effective commiunication skills, and it was those skill that the Sophists taught.

Stoicism - The belief that one should live according to nature's plan and accept one's fate with indifference or, in the case of extreme hardship, with courage.

Teleology - the belief that nature is purposive. Aristotle's philosophy was teleological

Utilitarianism - The belief that the best society or government is one that provides the greatest good for the greatest number of individuals. Jeremy Bentham, James Mill, and John Stuart Mill were all utilitarians.