TASC Philosophy Level 3 key terms

The earliest Greek philosophical movement, before Socrates, which sought rational explanations for nature and the cosmos rather than mythological ones. Thinkers such as Thales, Heraclitus, and Parmenides asked what basic stuff or principle underlies all things.

A style of inquiry in which a questioner probes a person's beliefs through persistent questioning, exposing inconsistencies and pushing toward clearer definitions. Socrates used it to test claims about virtue, justice, and knowledge without asserting his own answers.

In Plato's theory, the perfect, unchanging, non-physical patterns that particular things imperfectly imitate. A beautiful object is beautiful by sharing in the Form of Beauty, which exists independently of any instance.

Plato's image of prisoners who mistake shadows on a wall for reality until one escapes into daylight. It illustrates the ascent from illusion through belief to genuine knowledge of the Forms.

Aristotle's framework explaining why something is what it is: material cause (what it is made of), efficient cause (what produces it), formal cause (its defining structure), and final cause (its purpose or end).

The explanation of things by reference to purposes, goals, or ends rather than only prior causes. A seed's development into a tree, or an eye's function of seeing, are teleological descriptions.

In metaphysics, that which exists in its own right rather than depending on something else for its existence. Aristotle treated individual living things as primary substances; later thinkers debated whether mind, matter, or God is the fundamental one.

The branch of metaphysics studying what exists and how entities are categorized. It asks whether abstract objects, numbers, minds, or possible worlds are real, and what it means for something to be.

The study of the most general features of reality, including existence, identity, causation, time, and necessity. It pursues questions that cannot be settled by empirical measurement alone.

Properties or kinds that can be shared by many particular things, such as redness or humanity. Realists hold that universals exist independently; nominalists hold that only particular things exist and general words are convenient labels.

The view that reality consists of two fundamentally different kinds of thing, most famously mind and body. Substance dualism holds that mental and physical substances are distinct, raising the problem of how they interact.

The question of what makes a person the same individual over time despite physical and psychological change. Competing answers appeal to bodily continuity, memory, psychological connectedness, or an enduring soul.

The relation by which one event or state brings about another. Philosophers debate whether it is a necessary connection in nature, a regular pattern of succession, or a habit of mind.

The thesis that every event, including human choices, is fixed by prior causes and natural laws. Its tension with moral responsibility and free will is one of philosophy's central problems.

The capacity to choose or act without being wholly determined by forces outside one's control. Compatibilists say free will can coexist with determinism; libertarians deny determinism to preserve it.

The philosophical study of knowledge, belief, justification, and truth. It asks what knowledge is, how we acquire it, and when our beliefs are rationally supported.

The traditional analysis of knowledge as a belief that is true and supported by adequate reasons. Gettier-style cases challenged whether these three conditions are sufficient.

The view that knowledge, or certainty, is unattainable or must be suspended. Global skeptics doubt all claims; local skeptics doubt only particular domains such as the external world or induction.

The view that reason is the primary source of knowledge and can grasp truths independent of sensory experience. Descartes and Leibniz held that some fundamental principles are innate or known a priori.

The view that sensory experience is the source of all substantive knowledge, and that the mind begins as a blank slate. Locke, Berkeley, and Hume developed this tradition against innate ideas.

Knowledge or justification that does not depend on experience, such as mathematics or basic logical truths. Its status is central to debates between rationalists and empiricists.

Knowledge or justification that depends on experience or observation, such as claims about the weather or chemical reactions. Empirical science is the paradigm case.

A method of reasoning through opposing positions to reach a higher resolution or truth. For Hegel it describes how contradictions in a concept drive historical and intellectual development.

A philosophical approach that describes the structures of conscious experience as they appear, setting aside assumptions about their causes. Husserl founded it as a rigorous study of intentionality.

A movement stressing individual freedom, choice, and the absence of predetermined meaning. Thinkers such as Sartre and Kierkegaard held that people create their essence through action and commitment.

In existentialist thought, the tension between humans' demand for meaning and the indifferent universe that offers none. Camus argued that one should acknowledge this conflict and live defiantly without despair.

The view that life has no objective meaning, value, or purpose, or that established moral and metaphysical claims are unfounded. Nietzsche diagnosed it as a cultural consequence of losing traditional beliefs.

An approach that centers moral character rather than rules or consequences, asking what kind of person one should become. Aristotle's eudaimonia and the cultivation of virtues such as courage and honesty are classic examples.

Aristotle's term for human flourishing or living well, the highest good and proper aim of a life. It is achieved through rational activity expressing virtue over a complete life, not mere pleasure.

Kant's supreme moral principle, binding regardless of desires or consequences. Its central formulation requires acting only on maxims one could will as universal law, and treating persons as ends in themselves.

An ethical theory judging actions by their conformity to duties or rules rather than by outcomes. Kantian ethics is the leading example, holding that some acts are forbidden regardless of the good they produce.

A consequentialist theory holding that the right action maximizes overall well-being or happiness. Bentham and Mill developed it as an impartial calculus weighing everyone's interests equally.

The family of ethical theories that evaluate actions solely by their consequences. Utilitarianism is its best-known form, though consequentialists disagree about which outcomes count as good.

The condition under which a person is rightly praised, blamed, or held accountable for an action. It typically requires that the person acted knowingly and freely.

The view that moral judgments are true only relative to a culture, society, or individual, with no universal standard. It contrasts with objectivist views holding that some moral truths hold for everyone.

The theory that moral standards are grounded in human nature and discoverable by reason, independent of legislation. Aquinas developed it as a rational creature's participation in divine order.

The study of valid inference, distinguishing arguments whose conclusions must follow from their premises from those where they need not. It supplies formal tools for assessing reasoning.

A property of arguments in which the conclusion cannot be false if all premises are true. Validity concerns form, not the actual truth of the premises.

A property of arguments that are both valid and have all true premises. A sound argument therefore guarantees a true conclusion.

A common pattern of reasoning that appears persuasive but is logically defective. Examples include begging the question, straw man, and false dilemma.

The idea that political authority derives from an agreement among people to form a society and accept governance. Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau used it to explain obligation and the limits of state power.

A hypothetical condition of humans without government, used to show why political authority is needed. Hobbes depicted it as a war of all against all; Locke saw it as governed by natural law.

Rawls's theory that just institutions are those chosen behind a veil of ignorance by free and equal parties. Its principles protect basic liberties and permit inequalities only if they benefit the least advantaged.

The justified right of a government or institution to exercise authority and be obeyed. It may rest on consent, tradition, law, or the ability to secure justice.

The branch of philosophy examining beauty, art, and aesthetic experience. It asks what makes something art, whether taste is subjective, and how we interpret and evaluate works.

An aesthetic experience of overwhelming grandeur or terror that exceeds ordinary comprehension yet pleases. Burke and Kant analyzed it in contrast with the calmer pleasure of beauty.

The ancient idea that art imitates or represents reality. Plato criticized such imitation as a copy of a copy; Aristotle defended it as a natural and cognitively valuable human activity.

An argument for God's existence from the concept of God as the greatest conceivable being. Anselm reasoned that such a being must exist, since existing is greater than not existing.

An argument inferring God's existence from the existence of the universe or its contingent things, which require a cause or sufficient reason. Aquinas's Five Ways include versions of it.

The difficulty of reconciling an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-good God with the reality of suffering. Defenses attempt to show that evil is compatible with, or even serves, divine purposes.

The longstanding debate over how religious belief relates to rational argument, whether they conflict, complement, or operate in separate domains. It shapes discussions of evidence, revelation, and justification.