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Philosophy terms glossary

Philosophy terms explained in plain English. 479 words and meanings, most familiar first.

Word	Meaning
and conjunction	Connecting two well-formed formulas to create a well formed formula that requires the new formula to only be true when each of the two are true.
that noun	Something being indicated that is there; one of those.
this noun	Something being indicated that is here; one of these.
or conjunction	An operator denoting the disjunction of two propositions or truth values. There are two forms, the inclusive or and the exclusive or.
being noun	That which has actuality (materially or in concept).
mind noun	The non-material substance or set of processes in which consciousness, perception, affectivity, judgement, thinking, and will are based.
trying noun	The act by which one tries something; an attempt.
idea noun	An abstract archetype of a given thing, compared to which real-life examples are seen as imperfect approximations; pure essence, as opposed to actual examples.
such noun	Something being indicated that is similar to something else.
matter noun	Aristotelian: undeveloped potentiality subject to change and development; formlessness. Matter receives form, and becomes substance.
open adjective	Having a free variable.
true adjective	Of the state in Boolean logic that indicates an affirmative or positive result.
each noun	An individual item: the least quantitative unit in a grouping.
water noun	The aforementioned liquid, considered one of the Classical elements or basic elements of alchemy.
least noun	Something of the smallest possible extent; an indivisible unit.
fire noun	The aforementioned chemical reaction of burning, considered one of the Classical elements or basic elements of alchemy.
reason noun	A premise placed after its conclusion.
free adjective	Unconstrained by quantifiers.
earth noun	The aforementioned soil- or rock-based material, considered one of the four or five classical elements.
sound adjective	Having the property of soundness.
figure noun	The form of a syllogism with respect to the relative position of the middle term.
strong adjective	Having a wide range of logical consequences; widely applicable. (Often contrasted with a weak statement which it implies.)
law noun	A statement (of relation) that is true under specified conditions; a mathematical or logical rule.
system noun	A comprehensive and logically organized set of propositions or philosophical beliefs.
simple noun	A simple or atomic proposition.
major adjective	(of a term) Occurring as the predicate in the conclusion of a categorical syllogism.
difference noun	The quality or attribute which is added to those of the genus to constitute a species; a differentia.
closed adjective	Lacking a free variable.
form noun	The inherent nature of an object; that which the mind itself contributes as the condition of knowing; that in which the essence of a thing consists.
mention verb	To utter a word or expression in order to refer to the expression itself, as opposed to its usual referent.
complete adjective	In which every semantically valid well-formed formula is provable.
bullshit noun	Statements made without regard for their truth value.
operation noun	A procedure for generating a value from one or more other values (the operands); (mathematics, more formally) a function which maps zero or more (but typically two) operands to a single output value.
weak adjective	Having a narrow range of logical consequences; narrowly applicable. (Often contrasted with a strong statement which implies it.)
member noun	One of the propositions making up a syllogism.
model noun	An interpretation function which assigns a truth value to each atomic proposition.
spring verb	To descend or originate from.
subject noun	A being that has subjective experiences, subjective consciousness, or a relationship with another entity.
particular adjective	Forming a part of a genus; relatively limited in extension; affirmed or denied of a part of a subject.
stronger adjective	Said of one proposition with respect to another one: that the former entails the latter, but the latter does not entail the former.
presence verb	To make or become present.
sentence noun	A formula with no free variables.
negative adjective	Denying a proposition.
circle noun	A form of argument in which two or more unproved statements are used to prove each other; inconclusive reasoning.
agency noun	The capacity of individuals to act independently and to make their own free choices.
bound adjective	Constrained by a quantifier.
impression noun	The vivid perception of something as it is experienced, in contrast to ideas or thoughts drawn from memory or the imagination.
term noun	The subject or the predicate of a proposition; one of the three component parts of a syllogism, each one of which is used twice.
degree noun	The number of logical connectives in a formula.
motion noun	From κίνησις (kinesis); any change. Traditionally of four types: generation and corruption, alteration, augmentation and diminution, and change of place.
argument noun	A series of propositions organized so that the final proposition is a conclusion which is intended to follow logically from the preceding propositions, which function as premises.
limit noun	A determining feature; a distinguishing characteristic.
minor adjective	Acting as the subject of the second premise of a categorical syllogism, which then also acts as the subject of its conclusion.
absolute noun	A realm which exists without reference to anything else; that which can be imagined purely by itself; absolute ego.
eternal adjective	Existing outside time; as opposed to sempiternal, existing within time but everlastingly
appearance noun	That which is not substance, essence, hypostasis; the outward reality as opposed to the underlying reality
structure noun	A set along with a collection of finitary functions and relations.
analysis noun	Proof by deduction from known truths.
contrary noun	One of a pair of propositions that cannot both be simultaneously true, though they may both be false.
absurd noun	The opposition between the human search for meaning in life and the inability to find any; the state or condition in which man exists in an irrational universe and his life has no meaning outside of his existence.
yang noun	A principle in Chinese and related East Asian philosophies associated with bright, hot, masculine, etc. elements of the natural world.
determine verb	To define or limit by adding a differentia.
conclusion noun	In an argument or syllogism, the proposition that follows as a necessary consequence of the premises.
zombie noun	A hypothetical being that is indistinguishable from a normal human being except in that it lacks conscious experience, qualia, or sentience.
chi noun	A life force in traditional Chinese philosophy, culture, medicine, etc, related (but not limited) to breath and circulation.
eternity noun	Existence outside of time.
concrete noun	A term designating both a quality and the subject in which it exists; a concrete term.
dialogue noun	A literary form, where the presentation resembles a conversation.
logic noun	The study of the principles and criteria of valid inference and demonstration.
medium noun	The mean or middle term of a syllogism, that by which the extremes are brought into connection.
depth noun	The number of simple elements which an abstract conception or notion includes; the comprehension or content
mode noun	That which exists only as a quality of substance.
consistent adjective	Of a set of statements: such that no contradiction logically follows from them.
reduce verb	To convert a syllogism to a clearer or simpler form.
essence noun	The true nature of anything, not accidental or illusory.

Word	Meaning
razor noun	A conceptual device that allows one to shave away unlikely explanations for a phenomenon.
demonstration noun	A proof.
universal noun	A characteristic or property that particular things have in common.
opposition noun	The difference of quantity or quality between two propositions having the same subject and predicate.
atomic adjective	Lacking logical operators; unable to be made simpler in logical form.
phenomenon noun	An experienced object whose constitution reflects the order and conceptual structure imposed upon it by the human mind (especially by the powers of perception and understanding).
norm noun	A sentence with non-descriptive meaning, such as a command, permission, or prohibition.
discharge verb	To release (an auxiliary assumption) from the list of assumptions used in arguments, and return to the main argument.
token noun	A particular thing to which a concept applies.
extension noun	The set of tuples of values that, used as arguments, satisfy the predicate.
mechanism noun	The theory that all natural phenomena can be explained by physical causes.
context noun	For a formula: a finite set of variables, which set contains all the free variables in the given formula.
distribution noun	The resolution of a whole into its parts.
denial noun	The negation in logic.
ethics noun	The study of principles relating to right and wrong conduct.
valid adjective	Of a formula or system: such that it evaluates to true regardless of the input values.
scope noun	The shortest sub-wff of which a given instance of a logical connective is a part.
affirmative adjective	Expressing the agreement of the two terms of a proposition.
convert verb	To change (one proposition) into another, so that what was the subject of the first becomes the predicate of the second.
atom noun	In logical atomism, a fundamental fact that cannot be further broken down.
thesis noun	An affirmation, or distinction from a supposition or hypothesis.
crocodile noun	A fallacious dilemma, mythically supposed to have been first used by a crocodile.
elimination noun	The act of obtaining by separation, or as the result of eliminating; deduction.
speculation noun	The act or process of reasoning a priori from premises given or assumed.
weaker adjective	Said of one proposition with respect to another one: that the latter entails the former, but the former does not entail the latter.
abduction noun	A syllogism or form of argument in which the major premise is evident, but the minor is only probable.
accidental adjective	Nonessential to something's inherent nature (especially in Aristotelian thought).
assumption noun	The minor or second proposition in a categorical syllogism.
yin noun	A principle in Chinese and related East Asian philosophies associated with dark, cool, female, etc. elements of the natural world.
interpretation noun	An assignment of a truth value to each propositional symbol of a propositional calculus.
dilemma noun	A type of syllogism of the form "if A is true then B is true; if C is true then D is true; either A or C is true; therefore either B or D is true".
trivial adjective	Indistinguishable in case of truth or falsity.
distribute verb	To employ (a term) in its whole extent; to take as universal in one premise.
conclude verb	To deduce, to infer (develop a causal relation)
sphere noun	The extension of a general conception, or the totality of the individuals or species to which it may be applied.
phenomenal adjective	Of or pertaining to the appearance of the world, as opposed to the ultimate nature of the world as it is in itself.
everlasting adjective	Existing with infinite temporal duration (as opposed to existence outside of time).
ethical adjective	Of or relating to the study of ethics.
convertible adjective	Able to undergo conversion (i.e., inversion) without falsehood.
spooked adjective	Duped into believing a spook.
reduction noun	A philosophical procedure intended to reveal the objects of consciousness as pure phenomena. (See phenomenological reduction.)
hypothetical adjective	Conditional; contingent upon some hypothesis/antecedent
paradox noun	A state in which one is logically compelled to contradict oneself.
conversion noun	The act of interchanging the terms of a proposition, as by putting the subject in the place of the predicate, or vice versa.
spook noun	A metaphysical manifestation; an artificial distinction or construct.
utility noun	Well-being, satisfaction, pleasure, or happiness.
literal noun	A propositional variable or the negation of a propositional variable. Wp
predicament noun	That which is predicated; a category.
singular noun	That which is not general; a specific determinate instance.
indifference noun	Self-identity defined through the negation of difference, non-difference.
induce verb	To infer by induction.
contradiction noun	A proposition that is false for all values of its propositional variables or Boolean atoms.
unconditional noun	A conditional-like structure expressing that the consequent holds true regardless of the particular value of the antecedent.
deduction noun	A process of reasoning that moves from the general to the specific, in which a conclusion follows necessarily from the premises presented, so that the conclusion cannot be false if the premises are true.
consistency noun	Freedom from contradiction; the state of a system of axioms such that none of the propositions deduced from them are mutually contradictory.
contingency noun	A statement which is neither a tautology nor a contradiction.
premise noun	Any of the first propositions of a syllogism, from which the conclusion is deduced.
implicate noun	The thing implied.
binary adjective	Concerning logic whose subject matter concerns binary states.
similarity noun	The relation of sharing properties.
realism noun	A doctrine that universals are real—they exist and are distinct from the particulars that instantiate them.
inconsistent adjective	Having the property that a contradiction can be derived.
subjective adjective	Experienced by a person mentally and not directly verifiable by others.
attribute noun	That which is predicated or affirmed of a subject; a predicate; an accident.
converse noun	Of a proposition or theorem of the form: given that "If A is true, then B is true", then "If B is true, then A is true.".
comprehension noun	The totality of intensions, that is, attributes, characters, marks, properties, or qualities, that the object possesses, or else the totality of intensions that are pertinent to the context of a given discussion.
complement noun	An expression related to some other expression such that it is true under the same conditions that make other false, and vice versa.
implication noun	The connective in propositional calculus that, when joining two predicates A and B in that order, has the meaning "if A is true, then B is true".
horseshoe noun	The symbol ⊃.
induction noun	Derivation of general principles from specific instances.
idealist noun	One who adheres to idealism.
innate adjective	Originating in, or derived from, the constitution of the intellect, as opposed to acquired from experience.
transient adjective	Operating beyond itself; having an external effect.
existential adjective	Of, or relating to existentialism.
contradictory noun	Either of a pair of propositions, that cannot both be true or both be false.

Meanings from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0). Sources