Cameroon GCE A-Level Philosophy key terms

A valid argument form in which a conditional premise and the affirmation of its antecedent together entail the consequent: if P then Q; P; therefore Q.

A valid argument form in which a conditional premise and the denial of its consequent together entail the denial of the antecedent: if P then Q; not Q; therefore not P.

The property of an argument whose conclusion cannot be false when all its premises are true, because the form of the reasoning guarantees the transmission of truth.

The property of an argument that is both valid and has all its premises actually true, so that its conclusion is guaranteed to be true.

An error in reasoning that lies in the logical form of an argument rather than in its content, such as affirming the consequent or denying the antecedent.

A defect in argument that depends on content, context or rhetoric rather than logical form, for example appeals to authority, ad hominem attacks or false dilemmas.

A fallacy in which a person's position is distorted, exaggerated or replaced by a weaker version so that the distorted version can be easily refuted.

A statement asserting a relation of inclusion or exclusion between two classes, in one of the four forms: all S are P, no S are P, some S are P, some S are not P.

A deductive argument with two premises and a conclusion, typically in categorical form, in which a middle term links the subject and predicate of the conclusion.

A diagram showing logical relations among the four categorical propositions, including contradiction, contrariety and subalternation, and which truth values they allow one another.

A case in which the premises of an argument are true and the conclusion false, used to show that the argument's form is invalid.

A necessary condition must hold for something to occur; a sufficient condition guarantees that it occurs. The two are not the same and must not be confused.

A compound statement of the form 'if P then Q', where P is the antecedent and Q the consequent; its truth depends on whether the antecedent is satisfied without the consequent.

The traditional analysis of knowledge as belief that is true and supported by adequate justification, famously challenged by Gettier's counterexamples.

The difficulty that justified true belief can be accidentally true, as in cases where a justified belief is true only through luck, suggesting the analysis of knowledge is incomplete.

The position that knowledge, or certainty, about some or all of reality is impossible or must be suspended, often supported by arguments about illusion, dreaming or error.

Descartes' claim 'I think, therefore I am', offered as an indubitable foundation for knowledge because even doubt presupposes a doubting thinker.

The doctrine that all knowledge derives ultimately from sense experience, with the mind contributing little beyond the arrangement of experiential materials.

The doctrine that reason, independent of sense experience, can yield substantive knowledge of reality, often through innate ideas or a priori reasoning.

Describing knowledge or justification that does not depend on experience but on reason or meaning alone, such as mathematics or the principle of non-contradiction.

Describing knowledge or justification that depends on sense experience, such as claims about the colour of a particular object or the outcome of an experiment.

The empiricist image of the mind as a blank slate at birth, on which experience writes, used by Locke against innate ideas.

In metaphysics, that which exists in its own right and supports properties or attributes, rather than existing merely as a feature of something else.

The view that reality, or at least the human person, consists of two distinct kinds of thing, typically mind and body, neither reducible to the other.

The metaphysical view that only physical matter and its properties exist, so that mental states must be explained in physical or bodily terms.

The thesis that every event, including human choice, is caused by preceding conditions, so that given the past only one future is possible.

The capacity of agents to choose and act on their own deliberation, such that their actions are genuinely attributable to them and not merely forced by prior causes.

The position that determinism and free will are compatible, because freedom means acting according to one's own desires without external constraint rather than acting uncaused.

Kant's test that a moral maxim must be capable of being willed as a universal law without contradiction before it can count as a genuine duty.

Kant's unconditional moral command, binding regardless of desires or consequences, expressed in the formula that one should act only on maxims one could will as universal law.

An ethical theory that judges actions by whether they conform to duties or rules, rather than by their consequences or the character of the agent.

A consequentialist ethical theory holding that the right action is the one that produces the greatest overall balance of happiness or welfare for all affected.

The family of ethical theories in which the moral quality of an action depends entirely on its outcomes, so that intentions or rules matter only through their effects.

An approach centred on the character traits of a good person, asking what a virtuous agent would do rather than focusing on rules or consequences alone.

Aristotle's term for human flourishing or living well, the highest good and the goal of a life organised around the exercise of virtue and reason.

Aristotle's idea that moral virtue lies between two vices, one of excess and one of deficiency, chosen by practical wisdom relative to the situation.

Plato's doctrine that the visible world is a shadow of eternal, non-material Forms, which are the true objects of knowledge and the source of value.

Plato's image of prisoners mistaking shadows for reality, illustrating the ascent from illusion through education to knowledge of the Forms.

Aristotle's idea that moral virtue lies between two vices, one of excess and one of deficiency, chosen by practical wisdom relative to the situation.

Descartes' claim 'I think, therefore I am', offered as an indubitable foundation for knowledge because even doubt presupposes a doubting thinker.

The empiricist image of the mind as a blank slate at birth, on which experience writes, used by Locke against innate ideas.

Julius Nyerere's Tanzanian policy of African socialism based on familyhood and communal work, presented as an extension of traditional African solidarity.

A southern African ethical outlook summarised as 'a person is a person through other persons', grounding personhood and morality in community and mutual recognition.

Kwame Nkrumah's philosophical programme for decolonisation, combining African communal values with scientific socialism and a critical reworking of colonial influences.

A literary and philosophical movement led by Senghor and Cesaire affirming black cultural identity and values against colonial denigration of African peoples.

A term, associated with critique by Hountondji, for philosophy presented as the collective worldview or folk wisdom of a people rather than individual critical argument.

Odera Oruka's approach recording the critical, individual thought of traditional African sages, offered as evidence of philosophy in pre-colonial Africa.

A social outlook prioritising the community over the isolated individual, often grounded in African traditions and contrasted with Western individualism.

The branch of philosophy examining the nature of mental states, consciousness and their relation to the physical body and brain.

The feature of mental states by which they are about or directed at something, such as a belief about rain or a desire for food.

The question of what makes a person the same individual over time, answered by reference to body, memory, soul or psychological continuity.

The theory that political authority is justified by an agreement among people to surrender some freedom to a sovereign in exchange for security and order.

A thought experiment describing human life without political authority, used by Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau to explain why government is needed.

Rousseau's concept of the collective will of citizens aimed at the common good, distinct from the sum of private individual preferences.

Rawls' theory that just social institutions are those chosen behind a veil of ignorance, guaranteeing equal basic liberties and aiding the worst off.

Rawls' device requiring parties choosing principles of justice to ignore their own talents, status and conception of the good, ensuring impartiality.