Lexicon

Prologue

A lexicon is a particular set of vocabulary related to a person, field of study, or subject. This particular lexicon relates to me. I will continue to update this over time. References will be cited at the bottom.
The last time this page was updated was: September 9th, 2024.

Abhinivesha — A Sanskrit term meaning “self-love” or “will to live.” This term typically has negative connotations in Indian Philsophy. (Audi 2)
Abstract Entity — An existent entity lacking spatiotemporal properties. (Audi 2)
Acosmism — A term, initially formed in analogy to atheism, pertaining to the theory that denies that the universe possesses any absolute reality or that it has any existence apart from God. (Merriam-Webster)
Action Theory — The study into the ontological structure of human actions. Particularly the process in which they occur and how it may be explained. (Audi 6)
Aesthetic Attitude — The proper manner or mindset for approaching art to enable the appreciation of it and the experience. (Audi 11)
Aesthetics — A major branch in Philosophy that examines the nature of art and our experiences to them. It also concerns our experiences to the natural environment. (Audi 11 & 12)
Affirmative Action — The provision of various advantages to members of systematically oppressed groups. This term is also called Positive Discrimination in the United Kingdom. (Turner 9)
Agape — The unselfish love for all persons. (Audi 14)
Agapism — A theory in Ethics according to which agape is the chief virtue of judging all actions. (Audi 14)
Agathon — A Greek word meaning “the good.” Since Socrates this word has often been associated with the goal of all rational action. It is typically related to a theory’s summum bonum. (Audi 14)
Agnosticism — A term coined in 1869 by Huxley to denote individuals who believe that metaphysical ideas can neither by proved or disproved. Specifically, that humans are incapable of knowing anything beyond phenomenological experience. (Audi 15)
Ahanta — A Sanskrit term meaning “indestructible” or “eternal.” Often used in traditional Hindu philosophy in regards to the truly real. (Audi 15)
Ahimsa — A Sanskrit term pertaining to the non-violence against living creatures. For contemporary Indian thinkers, this is more so regarded as a general sense of kindness or compassion to all creatures. (Audi 15)
Aitia — A Greek term literally meaning “a cause.” Aristotle explains it in four versions: (1) material (a cause from its natural being), (2) moving (a cause due to an antecedent), (3) formal (a cause due to a strict definition), (4) and final (a cause to create something that it can become). Typically used in English to be an explanatory reason or principle thereof, but this lacks the expanded use of the term. (Audi 16)
Akrasia — A Greek term for “weakness of will.” Typically brought up in relation to intentional and often repeated behaviors conflicting with one’s own values. (Audi 16)
Alienation — The process whereby people become estranged from the world in which they are living. (Turner 17)
Analysis — The process of breaking up a concept or proposition into its simple and or largest parts. (Audi 25)
Analytical Philosophy — An umbrella term relating to a variety of propositions that are collectively used in order to approach philosophical problems often emphasizing linguistic and logical analysis. (Audi 26)
Anglophone — Belonging to an English-speaking population. (Merriam-Webster)
Angst — A term in German Philosophy (usually Existentialism) denoting a particular form of anxiety. This form of anxiety, both alluring and disturbing, was the precondition for one’s autonomy to be revealed to them. (Audi 29 & 30)
Anomie — A Greek term for “without laws and traditions.” In Sociology this term more broadly refers to the absence of norms and the constraints they provide. (Turner 20)
Aporia — A Greek term meaning a “puzzle” or “question for discussion.” (Audi 34)
Aporetic Method — The raising of questions without offering solutions often seen in Socratic dialogues. (Audi 34)
Applied Ethics — A field of study that examines how ethical theories and moral principles can be used to address real-world problems or questions. (Carnegie)
A Priori — A Latin term used in relation to an assumed truth or proposition. (SEP)
Arete — A Greek term meaning “virtue” or “excellence.” Typically used in relation to one’s character. (Audi 43)
Assimilation — The process by which outsiders, typically migrants, give up their distinctive culture and adopt the relevant cultural norms of the insiders or host society. (Turner 24)
Atheism — The generic view that there are no gods or God. Often split in two senses — theoretical and practical. A Theoretical Atheist is one who denies the existence of a supreme being, while a Practical Atheist acts as if one doesn’t exist. (Audi 59)
Authority — The legitimate ability to govern another’s actions. (Turner 29)
Avidya — Sanskrit for “ignorance” or “lack of wisdom.” A key term in Indian Philosophy pertaining to Karmic Bonding. (Audi 64)
Axiom of Comprehension — An axiom stating that for every property there must exist things exhibiting them. (Audi 65)

Bad Faith — Dishonesty in our speech or actions as potentially promised to others. (Audi 70)
Basing Relation — The relation between two pieces of belief or knowledge where the second is like a corollary of the first. (Audi 73)
Beauty — A term in Aesthetics denoting either a certain (or set thereof) property producing a certain aesthetic pleasure or one incapable of being described by other properties. (Audi 75)
Belief — A disposition by which one will will agree to a proposition. (Audi 78)
Belief Revision — The process by which one’s beliefs change in light of new information or data. (Audi 79)
Biconditional — A property in Logic, often denoted with a triple-bar sign or a double-headed arrow, used to note that either both are true or false. (Audi 88)
Bioethics — A sub-branch in Ethics concerned with the ethical issues forming due to knowledge or experiments in Biological Science. (Audi 88)
Biologism — A perspective suggesting that the general social position of groups largely stems from genetically inherited levels of intelligence. This is known as the strict sense version. The crude version is an ideology where white males exercise power over all other racial groups and women. (Turner 37 & 38)
Borderline Case — A disputed or arguable case associated with a vague topic. (Audi 96)
Brokefishing — The practice of pretending to have less money than you really do, in order to trick another person into buying things for you. (COED)

Capitalism — An economic system wherein the factors of production are privately owned and owners of capital are free to use it as they see fit. Profit plays a major role in deciding what is to be produced, how it is produced, and how is it exchanged. (OR)
Casuistry — The case-by-case analysis approach to the interpretation of general moral rules. (Audi 121)
Causa Sui — A Latin phrase meaning “cause of itself.” This phrase is typically used in relation to God, in that He owes His existence to nothing other than Himself. Note that it doesn’t mean that He somehow brought Himself into existence. (Audi 128)
Causality — The principle that there is a cause for everything happens. (COED)
Census — A collection of data from all members of a population. (Turner 58)
Character — The sum of personal dispositions a person holds. (Audi 130)
Circular Reasoning — A Logical Fallacy where the reasoner begins with the points they want to end up proving. (Audi 144)
Civic Culture — The culture, beliefs, and values that direct a political system. Due to this definition, it is often called political culture. (Turner 69)
Civil Disobedience — The deliberate violation of a law (or set thereof) committed to draw attention to and potentially cause future rectification of. (Audi 145)
Civilization — A highly developed culture marked typically by divisions of labor, food production, urbanization, and a government. (COED)
Cluster Analysis — A multi-variate statistical technique that divides a heterogeneous sample into a number of smaller homogeneous clusters. (Turner 73)
Coase Theorem — Assuming there are no monetary costs involved in exchanging rights for money, then no matter how the rights are initially distributed, rational agents will buy and sell so as to maximize individual returns. (Audi 147)
Cognitive Dissonance — The discomfort arising when a person’s actions and beliefs don’t coincide. This term was developed by Leon Festinger in his “Theory of Cognitive Dissonance” (1957). (Audi 147) (Turner 74)
Coherence Theory of Truth — A theory asserting that the nature of something’s truth lies in its consistency with a specified set of propositions. (SEP)
Coherentism — A theory in Epistemology according to which all of something’s beliefs are justified in virtue of it belonging to a coherent system. (IEP)
Collective Action — Actions taken by a group (directly or not) in pursuit of the member’s share interests. (OR)
Collective Behavior — Behavior carried out by some collective, as opposed to an individual. (Turner 75)
Colonialism — The domination of a metropole, resulting in a fundamental inequality between it and the parent colony. This inequality creates a dependence on the colony, resulting in the aforementioned foreign domination. This term in often confused with Imperialism. (SEP)
Communism — A social, economic, and political stance advocating for a society in which all property is fully owned and shared simultaneously. In this society there is no private property. This stance is attributed to Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels per “The Communist Manifesto” (1848). (SEP)
Communitarianism — A social philosophy where the focus is that humans are largely shaped by numerous social relations. Specifically, that this set of relations should inform our moral, social, cultural, and political judgments. This philosophy often criticizes Liberalism for its focus on the individualistic concept of self-interest. (SEP)
Compossible — The property of being able to exist with another. (Audi 163)
Complexity Theory — The study of complex and chaotic systems and how order, patterns, and structures can be found within them. (Turner 84)
Conceptualism — The view that there are no universals and that they are actually particular concepts of the mind. (Audi 169)
Connotation — The associations brought to mind by an expression or action. (Audi 176)
Conservatism — A political philosophy stressing the importance of traditions and is slow to change or reform a society. It advocates for this in light of the unforeseen, adverse consequences producible by the reformer, regardless of their best intentions. (Mautner 121)
Conversation Analysis — The field of study concerned with the norms and practices found in all social interactions. (Turner 91)
Contextualism — The view that with a set of non-evidentially supported beliefs inferential justification occurs. (Audi 179)
Contractarianism — The moral and political views that make used of the idea of a social contract. (Audi 182)
Counterexample — A particular instance of an argument that has all true premises, but a false conclusion, showing that the form isn’t universally valid. (Audi 189)
Creationism — The view in Christian circles that God created the universe as per the book of Genesis. (Audi 192)
Criminal Justice System — The set of legal and social institutions established to enforce a society or countries’ criminal law with respect to outlined procedures. (Turner 101)
Criminology — The study of crime, born out of a desire to learn more about deviant behavior. (Turner 102)
Critical Race Theory — A theory that initially evolved out of the American post civil rights era. This theory is typically critical of the liberal theory of rights, especially with regards to race and ethnicity. The theory is largely based on three principles: (1) the U.S. Constitution favors property over claims of justice, (2) whites support racial reform only when it is in their self-interest to do so, (3) whites will not support reform if it challenges their social status. (Turner 103 & 104)
Critical Theory — A theory originating with the Hegelian, Marxist Frankfurt School. This theory seeks to reveal, critique, and challenge power structures within cultures or societies. In particular, it seeks to outline the flaws of Capitalism, in that all relations are governed by a commodity-exchange basis. The original basis for this theory was to be a large reason why the modern world would transition from what they viewed as monopolistic Capitalism to Socialism. (Turner 104 & 105)
Cultural Materialism — The view that culture is the way we organize and behave (our combined activity) rather than the typical aesthetic representation in art, music, etc. This then leads to the conclusion that culture isn’t distinct from the world, but rather an integral part of it. Therefore, culture is deemed truthful insofar as it reflects the material world accurately. (Turner 108)

Darwinism — The scientific view that biological species evolve mainly due to chance variation and natural selection. (Audi 204)
Deconstruction — The demonstration of the incompleteness of a philosophical position. (Audi 209)
De Dicto — Latin for “about what is said.” (Audi 211)
Deduction — A finite sequence of sentences whose last sentence is a conclusion (that of what is to be deduced), wherein every sentence follows from an axiom or previous sentences via rules of inference. (Audi 211)
Defeasibility — A property inherent in many arguments or principles wherein they might be defeated given a set of uncommon or unusual circumstances. (Audi 212)
Definist — Someone who holds that moral and evaluative terms are definable in non-moral and non-evaluative terms. More broadly that one holds that ethical terms are explainable in non-ethical terms. (Audi 213)
Definition — The specification pertaining to the meaning of a conception or expression. (Audi 213)
Demythologize — To provide an explanation of something, or to present something, in a way that removes any mystery surrounding it. (COED)
Determinism — The view that every event or state is brought about by a preceding one in accordance with the causal laws that govern the universe. (Audi 228)
Dianoia — A Greek term for the faculty of thought. Used particularly in regards to drawing of conclusions from assumptions and constructing responses. (Audi 233)
Dignity — Typically used in regards to having qualities worthy of respect. Philosophically the term refers to the moral worth (or rather one’s intrinsic worth). (Audi 235)
Divine Attributes — Properties that are essential and unique to God — omnipotence, omniscience, omnibenevolence, divine sovereignty, aseity (divine independence), and simplicity (having no parts due to not being spatiotemporal). (Audi 240)
Divine Command Theory — The ethical theory according to which part or all of morality depends on the will of God. (Audi 240 & 241)
Doxastic — Pertaining to belief. (Audi 243)
Duty — That which one is obligated to do in accordance with reason. (Audi 248)

Eduction — The process by which one initially clarifies a sentiment prior to logical analysis. (Audi 253)
Egocentric Particular — A word whose denotation is determined by the speaker’s identity and the time, place, and audience of the utterance. (Audi 254)
Egocentric Predicament — Each person’s apparently problematic position as an experiencing subject. (Audi 254)
Egoism — Any view where the self is central. (Audi 255)
Elenchus — A cross-examination or refutation typical of Plato’s early dialogues. The goal of this is to show another’s ignorance towards a subject. (Audi 257)
Emotion — Several types of mental states typically called passions by earlier philosophers (such as Descartes and Hume). (Audi 259)
Emotivism — A Non-Cognitivist metaethical view which holds that moral judgements should be construed as personal, emotive assertions by the originator. (Audi 260)
Empathy — Imaginative speculation into another’s situation. (Audi 261)
Empiricism — A theory in Epistemology that states that we gather all our knowable or justifiable concepts and propositions from a posteriori experience. (EB)
Ens A Se — Latin for “being from itself.” Since everything is dependent on something else for its existence, God is the only thing capable of this. (Audi 266)
Ens Realissimum — Latin for “most real being.” An informal term for God that is rarely used other than in technicality. (Audi 267)
Epistemology — The study of the nature of knowledge and justification. Typically studying how to define various relevant features or conditions therein and the limits of them. (Audi 273)
Equipollence — A term used by Sextus Empiricus to state that there are arguments of equal strength on all sides of any question, thus leading us to not judge every raisable question. (Audi 278)
Erlebnis — A German term for experience. More specifically experience in all its direct immediacy and lived fullness. This is contrasted by ordinary experience (in German this is Erfahrung). (Audi 280)
Erotetic — Pertaining to questions. (Audi 280)
Eternal Return — The doctrine that the same events, occurring in the same sequence, involving the same things, have and will occur infinitely over time against the typical notion of worldly uniqueness. (Audi 283)
Ethical Objectivism — The view that ethical concepts exist and that facts about them are objective. (Audi 284)
Ethics — The philosophical study of morality. Often conflated with morality in a technical error. (Audi 284)
Ethnology — The analytical study of cultures. (Audi 290)
Ethnomethodology — The phenomenological approach to interpreting everyday actions in a variety of social concepts. (Audi 290)
Eudaimonism — The ethical doctrine that happiness is the ultimate justification for morality. (Audi 291)
Evidence — Information bearing truth (or a lack thereof) on a proposition. (Audi 293)
Evolutionary Psychology — A subfield of psychology that explains human behavior and culture by utilizing evolutionary biology and cognitive psychology to analyze psychological mechanisms. (Audi 295)
Existentialism — A philosophical and literary movement focused on the uniqueness and existence of each person as distinguished from abstract universal human qualities. (IEP)
Explicate — To explain something in detail. (COED)
Externalism — The view that there are objective reasons for actions that aren’t dependent upon an agent’s desire’s. (Audi 300)
Extrinsic Desire — A desire for something due to its conduciveness to attaining something else that one desires. (Audi 301)

Fact-Value Distinction — The fundamental difference between “how things are” and “how they should be.” (Audi 302)
Faculty Psychology — The view that mind is a collection of departments each with distinct psychological functions. (Audi 303)
Fallibilism — The epistemological thesis that no belief can ever be rationally supported or justified in a conclusive way. (IEP)
Feminist Philosophy — The philosophical view that (1) emphasizes the role of gender in the formation of traditional philosophical problems and concepts, (2) analyzes the ways in which traditional philosophy reflects and perpetuates bias against women, and (3) defends philosophical concepts and theories that presume women’s equality. (EB)
Formal Logic — The science of correct reasoning. (Audi 319)
Foundationalism — The epistemological view that some beliefs can justifiably be held by inference from other beliefs, which themselves are justified directly. (EB)
French Personalism — A form of Christian Socialism stressing social activism and personal responsibility. (Audi 331)
Functionalism — The view that mental states are defined by their causes and effects. (Audi 334)
Future Contingents — A state of affairs that have the potential to come to pass in the future. (Audi 336)

Game Theory — A theory pertaining to the structure of and the strategies for performing (or taking part in) games (or game-like interactions). (Audi 302)

Haecceity — An individual’s essence or the most irreducible category of being IE the fundamental actuality of an existent entity. (Audi 359)

Idealism — The philosophical doctrine that reality is inherently mind-correlative. Specifically, that reality is dependent upon and understood only as it reflects our mind’s conception of it. (Audi 412)
Interlocutor — One who takes part in a conversation or dialogue. (Merriam-Webster)

Jen — A Chinese term, important to Confucianism, often translated to English as “kindness,” “humanity,” or “benevolence.” Its definition mainly depends on its use case — in general, by a person or official, by a government, etc. (Audi 451)

Kala — A Sanskrit term meaning “time” or “death.” (Audi 460)

Lexicon — A particular set of vocabulary related to a person, field of study, or subject. More formally, the total set of morphemes in a given language. (Merriam-Webster)

Metropole — The parent state of a colony. (Merriam-Webster)
Morpheme — Any of the minimal grammatical units of a language (those which cannot be divided further linguistically). (Merriam-Webster)

Nascent — Having recently come into existence. (Merriam-Webster)
Naturalism — The philosophical view that reality is composed of only natural entities, lacking supernatural ones. It also asserts that everything in reality falls within the scope of scientific investigation and its methods. (Audi 596)
Non-Excludability — Holding the property that anyone can use or consume said thing regardless of contribution. (Turner 75)

Operationalism — A program in the Philosophy of Science that aims to interpret scientific concepts vai experimental procedures and observable outcomes. (Audi 632)

Pacificism — An opposition to war, generally on moral, religious, and or practical grounds. (Audi 639)

Qualia — The phenomenal properties of experience. (IEP)

Racism — The general or specific contempt, hostility, and or prejudice on the basis of racial classifications (social or cultural). (Audi 639)

Samanantara-pratyaya — In Buddhist Causal Theory, that which corresponds to the immediate antecedent of some relevant, causal event. (Audi 809)
Sociogenesis — The evolution of a particular society or social unit. (Merriam-Webster)
Sojourn — A short period when a person stays in a particular place. (COED)

Tao — A Chinese term meaning “path,” “way,” or “account.” Can be used either in the literal (like a pathway) or as an action (way of doing something). (Audi 901)
The Absolute — A term used in Philosophical Idealism to describe the one, independent reality in which all things are an expression of. (Audi 3)
Theodicy — A defense of God's goodness and omnipotence while acknowledging the existence of evil. (Merriam-Webster)

Used-Mentioned Distinction — In Analytic Philosophy, the two ways in which terms enter into a discourse. “Used” when terms are explicitly referred to. “Mentioned” when terms are considered due to their known properties. (Audi 942)

Valid — A term in Logic pertaining to the property of having a form that makes it impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion(s) to be false. (IEP)

Wisdom — The ability to use knowledge and experience to make good decisions and judgments. Often summarized as the truest, or highest, understanding of an action or event. Aristotle made a distinction between theoretical wisdom (sophia) and practical wisdom (phronesis) in his Nicomachean Ethics. (Audi 976)

Yung — A Chinese term meaning “courage” or “bravery.” Typically used in relation to a general readiness to avenge an insult (or wrongdoing) in the absence of fear. (Audi 986)

Zeigarnik Effect — The selective recall of unfinished tasks in comparison to finished ones. (Audi 987)

References

(Audi) Audi, Robert “The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy“ (Second Edition) Cambridge University Press (1999)
(Bunnin) Bunnin & Tsui-James “The Blackwell Companion to Philosophy“ (Second Edition) Blackwell Publishing (2003)
(Carnegie) https://www.carnegiecouncil.org | Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs
(COED) https://dictionary.cambridge.org | Cambridge Online English Dictionary
(Collins) https://www.collinsdictionary.com | Collins Online English Dictionary
(DoP) https://dictionary.apa.org | APA Dictionary of Psychology
(Dryzek) Dryzek et al. “The Oxford Handbook of Political Theory“ (First Edition) Oxford University Press (2008)
(EB) https://www.britannica.com | Encyclopaedia Britannica
(Ety) https://www.etymonline.com | Online Etymology Dictionary
(IEP) https://plato.stanford.edu | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
(Mautner) Mautner, Thomas “Dictionary of Philosophy“ (Second Edition) Penguin Books (2005)
(Merriam-Webster) http://www.merriam-webster.com | Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
(OED) https://www.oed.com | Oxford English Dictionary
(OR) https://www.oxfordreference.com | Oxford Reference
(SEP) https://plato.stanford.edu | Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
(Turner) Turner, Bryan “The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology“ Cambridge University Press (2006)
(Wex) https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex | Wex (Legal Dictionary and Encyclopedia sponsored and hosted by the Legal Information Institute at the Cornell Law School)