RBSE SS Philosophy key terms

In Vedanta, the ultimate reality underlying all existence, conceived as infinite, conscious, and blissful, and as the single ground of the self and the world.

The innermost self or pure consciousness in Indian philosophy; Advaita identifies it with Brahman, while other schools treat it as an eternal, individual principle distinct from body and mind.

In Advaita Vedanta, the power that makes the one reality appear as a manifold world; often translated as illusion, it names misapprehension rather than sheer nonexistence.

The principle that intentional actions leave traces that shape future experience, in this life or later ones; it explains moral causation and binds the self to rebirth until liberation.

In Indian thought, the duties, virtues, and right order appropriate to one's station and situation; in Buddhism, the teachings of the Buddha and the fundamental nature of phenomena.

Liberation from the cycle of rebirth and suffering; in different schools it is union with Brahman, isolation of pure consciousness, or the extinguishing of craving and ignorance.

The Buddhist doctrine of no-self: what we call a person is a changing bundle of physical and mental processes, with no permanent, independent soul or essence.

A valid means of knowledge in Indian epistemology; different schools accept perception, inference, testimony, comparison, and other sources, and debate their number and reliability.

The question-and-answer method used by Socrates to test beliefs; through persistent questioning he exposes inconsistencies and provokes perplexity, aiming at clearer definitions and self-knowledge rather than winning arguments.

Plato's view that sensible things are imperfect copies of eternal, non-material Forms, which are grasped by reason and are the true objects of knowledge.

Aristotle's term for human flourishing or living well; it is the final end of action, achieved through excellent activity of reason and the virtues over a complete life.

Descartes's "I think, therefore I am"; the indubitable first certainty that even radical doubt presupposes a thinker who is doubting, and the foundation for his reconstruction of knowledge.

Kant's supreme moral principle: act only on maxims you could will as universal laws, and treat humanity always as an end, never merely as a means.

A political theory explaining legitimate authority as arising from an actual or hypothetical agreement among people to form a society and obey common rules for mutual security.

Reasoning in which the conclusion follows with necessity from the premises; if the premises are true and the form valid, the conclusion cannot be false.

Reasoning that generalizes from observed cases to wider conclusions; it supports probable rather than certain conclusions, since unobserved cases may differ.

A deductive argument with two premises and a conclusion, typically in categorical form (all, some, or no A are B); validity depends on the arrangement of terms, not content.

A property of arguments: the conclusion follows necessarily from the premises. Validity concerns form, not the actual truth of the premises; a valid argument can have false premises.

Popper's criterion that a scientific hypothesis must rule out some observable outcomes; a claim that cannot possibly be refuted by evidence is not genuinely scientific.

A fallacy in which the conclusion is assumed in the premises, so the argument goes in a circle and gives no independent support for its claim.

A testable proposed explanation or prediction, stated so that observations could confirm or disconfirm it; in science it links theory to experiment and guides inquiry.

An approach centered on character rather than acts or rules; it asks what kind of person to be and which traits, such as courage and honesty, constitute human excellence.

An ethics of duty: certain actions are right or wrong in themselves, regardless of consequences, and moral rules bind us absolutely or prima facie.

The view that the rightness of an action depends solely on its consequences; the best action produces the best overall outcome, however welfare is measured.

A consequentialist ethical theory holding that an action is right when it maximizes overall well-being or utility, usually summing benefits and harms across everyone affected.

The claim that moral judgments are true only relative to a culture, group, or individual, with no universal standard; it is often contrasted with moral objectivism.

Non-violence or harmlessness, a central virtue in Jainism, Buddhism, and Gandhian thought; it requires restraint in action, speech, and intention toward all living beings.

The reason or evidence that makes a belief epistemically appropriate; on the traditional analysis, knowledge is justified true belief, though Gettier cases challenge that account.

The view that a statement is true when it matches or corresponds to reality; truth is a relation between propositions or beliefs and facts.

The position that knowledge is impossible or that we should suspend judgment; global skepticism doubts all claims, while local skepticism targets particular domains.

The relation by which one event or state brings about another; Hume analyzed it as constant conjunction plus habit, while rationalists and realists defend objective causal powers.

The thesis that every event, including human choices, is fixed by prior causes and laws; it raises the question whether moral responsibility and free will can survive.

An a priori argument for God's existence from the concept of God as the greatest conceivable being; if existence is a perfection, then God must exist.

An argument for God from the existence and contingency of the world: things that exist depend on causes, so there must be a first or necessary cause.

The difficulty that an all-powerful, all-knowing, perfectly good God seems incompatible with the existence of evil and suffering; responses include free-will and soul-making theodicies.

Rawls's device for choosing principles of justice: parties decide behind a veil that hides their talents, status, and conception of the good, ensuring impartiality.

The question of how goods, opportunities, and burdens should be shared in a society; rival principles include equality, need, desert, and maximizing the position of the worst off.

A deliberate, public, and usually non-violent breach of law to protest injustice, accepting punishment; justified in democratic societies when legal channels fail and injustice is serious.