VCE Philosophy key terms

A set of statements in which some premises are offered as support for a further statement, the conclusion. The premises aim to give a reason to accept the conclusion.

A statement in an argument offered as a reason for accepting the conclusion. Premises are the starting points the arguer asks the audience to grant.

The statement an argument tries to establish. It is what the premises are supposed to support, and it is the claim the arguer wants the audience to accept.

The mental step from premises to conclusion, in which one moves from accepting the reasons to accepting what they supposedly support. Good inference makes the conclusion genuinely follow.

A property of deductive arguments: the premises cannot all be true while the conclusion is false. Validity concerns the structure of the argument, not the actual truth of its parts.

A property of deductive arguments that are both valid and have all true premises. A sound argument guarantees a true conclusion, so soundness is the strongest standard for deduction.

An argument claiming that its premises guarantee the conclusion. If the reasoning is valid and the premises are true, the conclusion must be true; it cannot fail to follow.

An argument claiming that its premises make the conclusion probable rather than certain. Even with true premises a strong inductive argument can still have a false conclusion.

How well the premises of an inductive argument support its conclusion. A strong argument makes the conclusion highly likely; a weak one gives it little support.

A case showing that a general claim or an argument form fails. Against a deductive argument, it is a possible situation where the premises are true and the conclusion false.

A common pattern of reasoning that looks persuasive but fails to give proper support for its conclusion. Naming a fallacy helps explain exactly where the reasoning goes wrong.

An imagined scenario used to test a philosophical claim by asking what we would say about it. It isolates a feature of a case so intuitions can be examined.

A pre-theoretical judgement about whether a particular case is right, wrong, fair or true. Philosophers use intuitions as evidence, though they can conflict or be unreliable.

A method of adjusting general principles and particular judgements until they cohere. Where a principle clashes with a firm intuition, one of them must be revised.

A way of doing philosophy through persistent questioning that exposes inconsistencies in a person's beliefs. The aim is to clear away confusion and move toward better-defined ideas.

The branch of philosophy investigating what exists and the fundamental nature of reality. It asks about things such as minds, persons, time, causation and abstract objects.

The study of what kinds of things exist and how they are related. It asks which categories of entity are basic and which can be explained in terms of others.

The view that reality contains two fundamentally different kinds of thing, typically mind and matter. Mind and body are held to be distinct in nature, not merely different descriptions.

The view that everything that exists is physical, or is fully explained by physical facts. Mental states are therefore either physical states or dependent on them.

The puzzle of how mental states such as thoughts and pains relate to physical states of the body and brain. It asks how two apparently different realms can interact.

What makes a person the same individual over time despite physical and psychological change. It concerns the conditions under which someone at one time is identical with someone later.

A criterion of personal identity based on links of memory, belief and character over time. On this view, continuity of mind rather than of body makes someone the same person.

The capacity of agents to choose and act on their own, in a way that makes them genuinely responsible. Debates concern whether such control is compatible with prior causes.

The thesis that every event, including every human choice, is caused by prior conditions. If true, then given the past and the laws of nature there is only one possible future.

The view that free will and determinism can both be true. Freedom is understood as acting from one's own desires without external constraint, not as escaping causation.

The branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge, belief and justification. It asks what knowledge is, how it is acquired, and when a belief is rationally supported.

The traditional account of knowledge: a belief is knowledge if it is true and the believer has good justification for it. Thought experiments challenge whether these conditions are sufficient.

The position that knowledge, or knowledge of some domain, is impossible or cannot be justified. Global scepticism doubts all claims; local scepticism targets a particular area.

The view that reason, independent of sense experience, is a major source of knowledge. Some truths, such as those of mathematics, are held to be graspable by thought alone.

The view that all knowledge or justified belief derives from sense experience. The mind begins as a blank slate and is furnished by observation and reflection on it.

The branch of philosophy examining how we ought to act and what makes lives good. It studies the nature of moral values, right action and moral responsibility.

The part of ethics that proposes and defends standards for right and wrong action. It asks which principles should guide conduct and why those principles are authoritative.

The study of the nature and status of moral language and moral facts. It asks whether moral claims can be true, and what it means to call something good.

A family of theories judging actions by their outcomes. The right action is the one producing the best overall results, whatever the agent's intentions or the act's intrinsic character.

A consequentialist theory holding that the right action maximises overall well-being. Each person's welfare counts equally, and acts are assessed by their total effect on happiness.

An approach judging actions by duties and rules rather than outcomes. Some acts are forbidden or required regardless of the good consequences that might result from them.

Kant's supreme moral principle, binding on all rational agents regardless of their desires. One formulation requires acting only on maxims that could be willed as universal laws.

An approach centred on character rather than acts or rules. It asks what a virtuous person would do and how traits such as courage and honesty are cultivated through practice.

Aristotle's term for human flourishing or living well, often translated as happiness. It is the final goal of human life, achieved by exercising virtues over a complete life.