Saarland Abitur Philosophy key terms
Saarland Abitur Philosophy · Get comfortable with the vocabulary.
- Validity
A property of a deductive inference such that its premises can not all be true while its conclusion is false, without establishing thatthepremises areactuallytrue.
- Soundness
The combination of deductive validity and true premises, which must be distinguished from a merely persuasive presentation or a valid pattern with falseassumptions.
- Epistemology
Philosophical inquiry into knowledge, justification, its sources and limits, distinct from simply listing facts or describing how people happen to form beliefs.
- Induction
Reasoning beyond observed cases or from patterns toward broader expectations, whose justification and limits require analysis rather than a deductive certainty assumption.
- Counterexample
A case thatchallenges a general claim or purported logical necessity by satisfying the relevant conditions while failing theclaimed result.
- Philosophical anthropology
Inquiry into conceptions of human beings and their implications for identity, freedom, dignity and social life, rather than a complete description of every individual.
- Dualism
A family of positions distinguishing two fundamental kinds or aspects;Cartesian substance dualism specifically distinguishes thinking and extended substance.
- Social contract
A philosophical model of agreement used to explain or justify political authority, which is not necessarily a report of an actual founding meeting.
- Veil of ignorance
A hypothetical restriction on knowledge of one's ownfuture position used to reason about principles of justice without tailoring them to known personal advantage.
- Agency
The capacity or status involved in attributing action to an agent, whose understanding depends on the account of knowledge, control and responsibility being used.
- Maxim
The policy or principle on which an agent proposes to act, whose formulation matters when testing universalizability in Kantian moral reasoning.
- Consequentialism
A family of moral approaches evaluating actions, rules or institutions through consequences, with particular theories specifying what outcomes count and how they are compared.
- Practical wisdom
Context-sensitive judgment about appropriate action and human flourishing, central to Aristotelian virtue ethics rather than a mechanical numerical average.
- Normative premise
A value-laden or obligation-related statement needed to support a moral conclusion, distinguished from a purely descriptive claim about what occurs.
- Metaethics
Inquiry into the meaning, status and justification of moral claims, distinguished from applying a specific moral rule to decide an individual case.
- Stakeholder
A person or group whose relevant interests, rights or responsibilities may be affected by a proposal, including people not directly represented in the discussion.
- Proportionality
An evaluative relationship between a measure's aims, its likely benefits and burdens, and available less intrusive alternatives, in the particular framework being used.
- Autonomy
Self-direction or self-government understood within a particular ethical account, requiring attention to context rather than automatic endorsement of every expressed request.
- Public interest
A reason concerning matters relevant to a community's legitimate concerns, which requires argument rather than being identical with curiosity or publicity.
- Ethical uncertainty
A lack of complete clarity about relevant facts, values or their application, which should be acknowledged and analyzed rather than concealed by fabricated evidence.