简 明 哲 学 术 语 英 语 词 典A BRIEF LEXICON OF PHILOSOPHICAL TERMS A BRIEF LEXICON OF SOME COMMONLY USED PHILOSOPHICAL TERMS IN THE PRESENT DAYhttp:/www.tcdsb.on.ca/external/schools/chaminade/oac-philosophy/public_html/lexicon.htmEdited and copyright 1989 by F.F. CentoreA POSTERIORI (to come after in time): That which follows upon or depends upon sense experience; a knowledge of things which cannot be arrived at or deduced from definitions alone. E.g., if it is raining today I could not know that fact simply by knowing the definitions of rain, today, etc. I must learn about it by either observing it for myself or having some other observer convey the information to me.A PRIORI (prior to in time): That which comes before sense experience; that which does not require sense knowledge to be known as true. Cf. armchair mathematicians. E.g., I know a circle is round by definition, even if I had never seen a circle in my life.ABSTRACTION (ab-trahere; to draw out): The mental concentration on one aspect of something while ignoring other aspects; contrasted with the whole, CONCRETE thing, e.g., sweetnessthis orange; humanness-Sally. It does not necessarily entail or imply the actual division or separation of the different aspects of the thing as it exists outside of the mind.ABSURD (ab-surdus; senseless): That which is selfcontradictory, impossible, e.g., a square circle; hence, meaningless, ridiculous, irrational. In 20th c. phil. the term is often used by Atheistic Existentialists, such as Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre, to refer to the human condition, i.e., the absurd man must learn to survive, without committing suicide, in a meaningless, de trop, world, one which hasnt come from anywhere and which is not going anywhere. The world and humans are surds, things without any reason for being. ACADEMIC FREEDOM: The right to do research and teach in accordance with the standards of the institution you freely chose to join and by whose moral and intellectual principles you freely agreed to abide. Hence, IF both the individual and the leaders of the institution know what they are about in the first place, there-cannot be any-conflict between ones personal,conscience and the school. If such should arise due to a change on the part of the teacher, in good conscience the teacher should voluntarily leave.AD HOMINEM (against the person): In logic, a pseudoargument directed against some personal characteristic of the opponent rather than against the substance of the position. E.g., Einstein couldnt have been right; just look at the way he combed his hair!AESTHETICS (aisthanesthai; to perceiveby the senses): Theories concerning the nature, origins, and appreciation of the beautiful.AGNOSTICISM (agnostos; unknown): In Latin, ignorance. Claiming that nothing is known concerning the answers to the ultimate questions of science, phil., theology, and life in general. Such knowledge is lacking now, but we may get it in the future. E.g., Darwin claimed that he didnt have any certain knowledge about the existence of God and human freedom.ALIENATION (alius; other): In general, the withdrawing or removing of one thing from another; to be left out; estranged. In 19th c. phil., the ForItself losing itself to the InItself, which then comes to stand over in opposition against the ForItself. In Hegel, The Absolute Spirit (God) becoming other in the form of the Material world which is determined and mechanistic in accordance with the Newtonian laws of nature. In Marx, the workers losing their profits to the capitalists; their labor, which is the source of all wealth, is alienated from themselves. In Ludwig Feuerbach and Sigmund Freud, the projection of human fatherfigure traits into the heavens so as to produce God; the losing of human nature, which is real, to divine nature, which is unreal but which nevertheless, as an obsessional neurosis, stands in opposition to man. In Sartre, the human condition of the absolute, autonomous, free will (the ForItself, non-being, nothingness) in opposition to the oppressive, inert world of physical matter (the InItself, being); inexplicably the In-Itself produces the ForItself; being recoils against itself to produce the nothingness of human consciousness; its me (my consciousness) against the world (including other people).ALTRUISM (alter; the other): Showing an unselfish love for others.ANALOGOUS USAGE: In general, the same term has a meaning thats partially the same and partially different in different contexts; very common in ordinary language. E.g., tall man, ta; tree; good flatworm, good husband; true diamond, true friend, true love; beautiful flower, beautiful building, beautiful person, etc.ANALOGY (analogos; to say again): A ratio of one thing to another; a comparison; usually meaning that two things are the same in at least one respect even though there may be differences in other respects. Main types: ATTRIBUTION: The trait belongs to only one of the things