# Philosophy glossary

Philosophy - A broad field of things concerning knowledge and where knowledge comes from, which gets meta because it questions its own methods. Has a wide variety of extremely useful sub-disciplines (e.g., [science](science.md), [logic](logic.md), [math](math.md)).

Broadly, the table of contents:

1. Metaphysics: reality, existence, being, big meta stuff
2. Epistemology: knowledge, knowing, understanding, values
3. Axiology: values which connect with [purpose](purpose.md)
4. Aesthetics: specific values regarding [beauty and art](image.md)
5. Ethics: Specific values about [right and wrong](morality.md)
6. Political Science: how everyone should [live together](jobs-specialization.md)
7. Philosophy's Culture: broad matters of how philosophers [approach their craft](philosophy.md)

[Religion](religion-answers.md) tends to dovetail closely with philosophy.

## Metaphysics

Metaphysics/Ontology - The branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of [reality](reality.md).

### How many parts is reality made of?

Dualism - Things have fundamentally different natures, usually between mental and physical.

- Cartesianism/Substance dualism - The mind is a metaphysical non-physical thing, totally separate from the body. Opposite of physicalism.
- Epiphenomenalism - Physical events cause mental effects, but mental events don't cause physical effects.
- Mentalism - Though they interact with one another, the mind and brain are different things.
- Realism - Reality doesn't require perception to be real, and things have attributes no matter what anyone thinks. Opposite of acosmism.
  - Naïve/Direct/Perceptual/Common-sense realism - The senses provide us with direct awareness of objects as they really are. Opposite of sensualism.

Monism - There is only one principle, essence, substance or energy.

- Dynamism - Forces and interactions are essential parts of matter.
- Idealism - A broad view that reality or knowledge is founded on mental experiences (ideas). Depending on those ideals, it may be the same as materialism or realism.
  - German idealism - The things we perceive in objects are part of our perceptions, not in the thing itself.
  - Objective idealism - In an important way, there's only 1 perceiver, which contains everything that the perceiver observes.
  - Subjective idealism - Only minds and things in the mind exist.
- Materialism - The only thing that exists is matter, and all "non-material" things are just material interactions.
  - Christian materialism - The only thing that "exists" are the material things, which are an extension of Jesus.
  - Dialectical materialism - Ideas and arguments can only exist as matter, so the subconscious state of humanity doesn't exist.
  - Historical materialism - People exist because their [social group](groups-member.md) defines them, not because they are conscious in their mind.
  - Naturalism/Metaphysical naturalism - Values, souls, and anything else "supernatural" is merely part of the natural.
  - Physicalism - Everything is physical, and thus scientifically knowable.
    - Eliminative materialism - Some of the weird things people believe in don't exist.
    - Emergent materialism - The mind is certainly unique from everything else, but studying mental events should be separate from the other [sciences](science.md).
    - French materialism - Associationism (see below) can coexist with emanationism (see below).
    - Reductive materialism/Type physicalism/Type identity theory/Mind-brain identity theory/Identity theory of mind - Some of the weird things people believe in do exist, but not the way they think it does.
    - Revisionary materialism - Some of the weird things people believe in do exist, but probably not the way they think it does.

Pluralism - There are many kinds of things in reality that can't be lumped together.

- Holism - The whole of something is more than just all its parts combined. Opposite of reductionism.
- Organicism - Reality can best be defined as an organic whole. Close to holism.
- Reductionism - Things can be completely broken down into their components and assembled together again with no change in their value. Opposite of holism.
  - Ontological reductionism - Everything that exists is made of smaller, consistent things. Contrasts to monism.

### Does reality exist?

Absolutism - Facts are absolute, not relative. Opposite of relativism.

- Necessitarianism - Everything either is or isn't, so there's no such thing as possibility.

Accidentalism - Cause-and-effect is merely an illusion.

Conceptualism - Universals exist only within the mind, but not in external reality. Middle ground between nominalism and realism.

Eternalism - Everything has existed for all of eternity.

Illusionism - Everything is just a collection of illusions made by human consciousness.

- Acosmism - The entire universe is a complete illusion. Opposite of realism.

Nominalism - Universals and mental concepts have no objective reality, but are merely words or names.

Philosophical presentism - Neither the future nor the past exists, as they are only in our [memories](understanding.md) and [imagination](imagination.md). Opposite of eternalism.

Relativism - Facts have no absolute, so everything is relative to context. Opposite of absolutism.

### What is reality made of?

Anti-realism - We can't know about some things, or they don't exist.

- Modal realism - [Imaginary](imagination.md) things are as possible as real things.

Atomism - Everything in the universe is made of small elements.

- Buddhist atomism - The universe is made of small, momentary atoms that flash in and out of existence.
- Greek atomism - The universe is made of small, indestructible elements that last eternally.

Constructivism - Reality, or our knowledge of it, is a subjective framework filled with values instead of us passively taking in objective things.

Determinism - Absolutely everything is caused by an unbroken chain of previous events. Opposite of indeterminism.

- Biologism/genetic determinism/biological determinism - Our genetics or environment determine *everything* about people.
- Finalism/Teleology - Any event is already defined by the end result, so all events are shaped retroactively by it.
- Hereditarianism - People inherit mental elements like personality and intelligence from their parents.
- Historical determinism - Every event in time is directly caused by other events before it, so those events can predict what will happen.
- Historicism - Every event in time is directly caused by other events before it, so everything can be explained by principles.

Emanationism - Reality must come out from a first principle/God.

- Occasionalism - Created things can't be efficient causes of events, since they were created, so it must come from God.
- Ontologism/Onto-theology - God and Divine ideas are the first part of our intelligence, so knowing God is our first act of knowing.

Essentialism - Each and every thing has a theoretically finite list of attributes that are necessary for it to exist, and that thing must abide by that list to stay as that thing.

Hylozoism - All matter is alive, or at least some physical things have life.

- Vitalism - Life can't be explained solely by physical causes. Opposite of mechanism.
- Panpsychism - All parts of matter involve mind, or the whole universe has a mind.

Immaterialism - All reality is the structure of a flawed perception, and there are no material objects.

Indeterminism - At least some events have no cause. Opposite of determinism.

Intrinsicism - Values are completely separate things from objects, and can still exist even if the physical thing doesn't.

- Platonism (metaphysics)/Platonic realism/Form theory - There are abstract universals/forms in a special perfect realm, and everything is generally imitating them.

Optimism - This reality is the best of all possible realities. Opposite of pessimism.

Pessimism - This reality is the worst of all possible realities. Opposite of optimism.

Physicalism - Everything has a physical part to it.

- Mechanism - Everything can be explained by physical causes. Opposite of vitalism.

Voluntarism - The will has the most impact on everything.

### Who runs reality?

Animism - A broad, vague idea that non-physical forces control everything.

Nontheism - A broad belief set that says a deity doesn't exist or is unknowable. A subset of anti-realism.

- Agnosticism - We can't know about a deity's existence.
  - Agnostic theism - We don't know if a deity exists and it's probably unknowable, but still worth believing in.
  - Weak/implicit/empirical/negative agnosticism - We don't know if deities exist, but it's not necessarily unknowable.
  - Strong/explicit/positive agnosticism - It's impossible for people to know whether deities exist.
- Atheism - There is no deity.
  - Methodological naturalism - Every other possible explanation should apply before saying a deity caused something.
  - Weak/implicit/negative atheism - There's no evidence of a deity.
  - Strong/explicit/positive/hard/gnostic atheism - Deities in no way exist.
- Agnostic atheism - We don't know if a deity exists and it's probably unknowable, it's unimportant, or claiming non-knowing is the best way to live.
- Darwinism - All life came from the same living ancestor through small changes over a long time.
- Ignosticism/Igtheism - Questioning the existence of God is meaningless because the word "God" is vaguely defined.
  - Theological noncognitivism - Religious language like "God" have no meaning, and can't be proved without connections to other things, so they don't exist.

Theism - A deity or deities exist, and may be involved in maintaining/creating the universe.

- Creationism - Everything was made by a deity, either from nothing or by making order from chaos.
  - Evolutionary creationism/Theistic evolution - Modern [scientific](science.md) beliefs are compatible with Christian religious teachings about God.
    - Day-age/Old Earth creationism - Every "day" in the Bible's Genesis account was a long evolutionary era.
    - Gap creationism/Restitution creationism/Ruin-Reconstruction - There's a big gap in between Day 1 and the other days in the Bible's creation story.
  - Young Earth creationism - God made everything sometime between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago.
  - Omphalos creationism - Since God could have made everything at any age he wanted, any [scientific](science.md) study about the history of the universe is irrelevant.
- Monotheism - A single, universal, all-encompassing deity made the universe.
  - Augustinianism - People are subject to hereditary sin and God's condemnation, and Jesus (who had no sin) was certainly a physical man, so physical things are sometimes good. Opposite of Platonism.
  - Classical theism - God is an absolute, eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect being, and caused the [universe](reality.md) and [morality](morality.md), but is unaffected by the world and its time-based things.
  - Deism - One God exists, but is uninvolved with this world's actions, so miracles don't exist.
  - Monistic theism - A broad idea that God is a universal being, the universe is part of God, or God is part of the universe.
  - Pantheism/Cosmotheism - Everything is part of an all-encompassing God, or God and the universe are the same thing.
  - Panentheism - God is part of the universe, but also the force behind the universe and the cause of [morality](morality.md).
  - Pandeism - Everything is part of an all-encompassing God, or God and the universe are the same thing, but this God is uninvolved in this world's actions.
  - Substance monotheism - God is different persons/deities, but all of the same essence.
  - Transtheism - God is impersonal essence, not related to anything else that exists.
- Philosophical theism - God exists, either from a philosophical reason or a religious faith that's not supported by a rational argument.
- Polytheism - Multiple deities, typically part of a pantheon, created the universe. Usually has [myths](stories-myths.md) and [rituals](habits.md) involved.
  - Henotheism/Inclusive monotheism/Monarchial polytheism - While there are multiple deities, each person will only live well by worshiping only one.
    - Kathenotheism - While there are multiple deities, only one is worth worshiping at a time.
  - Monolatrism - While there are multiple deities, only one specific one is worth worshiping.
- Substantialism - Aware entities make unexplained events happen.

## Epistomology

Epistemology - The branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and scope of [knowledge](understanding.md).

### What is knowledge?

Behaviorism - Presuming materialism (see above), the mind isn't significant to anything else, so it can be researched [scientifically](science.md) without considering inner mental states.

- Logical/analytical behaviorism - Mental concepts can be explained as behavioral concepts.
  - Computationalism - thoughts are merely calculated, computed things without any additional elements to them
- Methodological behaviorism - Psychological data must be outwardly measurable, so only what people do can be measured or controlled.
  - Psychological behaviorism - People learn by things beyond normal animal understanding, since we have a remarkable learning ability.
  - Radical/Skinner behaviorism - Human behaviors are learned, so even people's thoughts can be measured or controlled.
  - Post-Skinnerism/Teleological behaviorism - Human behaviors are learned, so [large groups](groups-large.md) can be measured (close to [macroeconomics](economics.md)).

Conventionalism - Some fundamental [universals of existence](humanity-universals.md) are grounded on agreements in society, not strictly on [reality](reality.md).

Dialetheism - Some statements can be both true and false at the same exact time.

Empiricism/Experimentalism - All knowledge comes from experiences, so there's no innate understanding about the world. Opposite of rationalism.

- Associationism - Mental processes are connected to other mental processes.
- Verificationism - We tend to verify what we experience, so what we've verified is effectively truth.

Externalism - The conscious mind isn't only what's going inside, but also things happening outside it. Opposite of internalism.

Externism - Only outside experience is certain, and there's nothing certain inside the mind. Opposite of solipsism.

Ethnocentrism - People view their environment through their [culture](culture.md).

- Methodological relativism - A researcher must suspend their [cultural biases](culture.md) to understand other [beliefs](understanding-certainty.md) and [behaviors](results.md).
- Polylogism - People think differently because of the [groups](groups-small.md) they're in.

Innatism - The mind is born with ideas or knowledge, so not all of it comes from experiences. Contrasts against empiricism.

Internalism - Actions are always caused by desires and beliefs, never facts about the world. Opposite of externalism.

Linguistic determinism - Our [language](language.md) determines how we understand things.

- Descriptivism - The meanings of names are the descriptions that the speakers give, and the things they point to are just the objects that satisfy those descriptions.
- Linguistic relativism - Since everyone thinks differently from different languages, they have different ideas for the same things.

Logical atomism - There are pieces of thought that can't be divided into smaller pieces of thought.

Phenomenalism - Physical objects aren't things themselves, and are simply bundles of sensory data.

Positivism - The only true knowledge is [scientific](science.md) knowledge from sensory information.

Presuppositionalism - assuming God exists, understanding comes through revelation and not through logic.

Rationalism - Reasoning can be the source of all knowledge. Opposite of empiricism.

Sensualism - Senses and perception are the most basic and important parts of understanding.

Solipsism - Only direct mental experience is certain, and there's nothing certain outside the mind. Opposite of externism.

- Transcendental idealism - Presuming idealism (see above), human experiences aren't things as they are, but are simply the things inside the mind.
- Hegelianism - Everything can be broken up into rational categories. Transcendental idealism mixed with reductionism (see above).

### How much can we know?

Critical realism - Some information we perceive represents reality outside our mind, while other information doesn't.

Deconstructionism - Everything is too impossibly complicated or unstable to determine.

- Existentialism - Deep down, all existence is a bunch of "themes" (e.g., love, freedom, etc.) that we can't further clarify or understand.
  - Christian existentialism - While we can't clarify or understand our themes, the God of the Bible can help us with them.
  - Christian existential humanism - People can make free will choices through Jesus' teachings.
- Interpretivism - Knowledge is strictly a matter of interpretation.
- Perspectivism - Since our perceptions, experience, and thoughts are relative to experience, nothing we perceive is true.

Disjunctivism - Assuming Naïve/Direct/Perceptual/Common-sense realism, our senses are wrong about some things.

Fallibilism - Absolute certainty about anything we know is impossible except logically consistent things of the mind, like [math](math.md) and [logic](logic.md).

Infinitism - Knowledge can be confirmed by an infinite chain of reasons behind it.

Intuitionism/Neointuitionism - Math is a merely a mental construct of the mind that allows people to make more elaborate calculations than anything in nature. Opposite of preintuitionism.

- Logicism - [Math](math.md) is merely an extension of [logic](logic.md), so all math can distill to logical statements ([has theoretically been proven by computers](logic.md)).

Operationalism/Operationalization - We can define values through specific observations.

Preintuitionism - Math exists in the world around us, so understanding math is to increase understanding of existing things. Opposite of intuitionism.

Relationalism - Things can only be defined in relationship to other things. Opposite of substantivalist.

Reliablism - A belief is only knowledge if it came through a reliable method.

Representationalism - People can't perceive the world directly, and instead only see their ideas or interpretations of the world.

Substantivalism - Things like space and time are entities in their own right, independent of anything else or how they're defined. Opposite of relationalism.

Tautology - A statement that's universally true.

## Axiology

Axiology - The branch of philosophy concerned with the concept of "[value](symbols.md)".

### How do we find purpose?

Absurdism - [Reality](reality.md) doesn't give us meaning, so we must accept that fact to find [purpose](purpose.md).

Nihilism - Absolutely everything has zero meaning, purpose, knowable truth, or value.

- Fatalism - Because determinism (see above) is true, thinking and doing anything is pointless to determine events.

Anthropomorphism - People tend to make human-like qualities for non-human things, including animals and deities.

Egoism (descriptively) - Everything people do consciously is inherently self-interested.

- Cynicism - Everyone is likely doing things for self-interested reasons.
- Psychological egoism - Everyone is always motivated by self-interest, consciously or subconsciously.

Freudianism - People psychologically repress experiences, it gets mixed up with sexual desire, and the very act of talking about bad experiences will often fix them.

Hedonism (descriptively) - People are motivated to seek pleasure and avoid pain.

### Where *should* we place our purposes?

Amor fati - Everything that happens is either good or at least necessary.

Anthropocentrism/Homocentrism - Human beings are the central reason/fact/purpose for the universe.

Immortalism - People are able to, at least theoretically, live forever.

Pragmatism - The practical use or consequences of something gives it [meaning](purpose.md) and truth.

Teleologism - There's an inherent design/purpose/principle/clarity in [reality's](reality.md) [patterns](symbols.md).

### How should we gain knowledge?

Coherentism (coherence theory of truth) - Someone's beliefs are only true if they're consistent with at least most of their other beliefs.

Coherentism (coherence theory of justification) - We can be [certain](understanding-certainty.md) of beliefs when they're consistent with at least most other beliefs that person has. Opposite of foundationalism.

Critical rationalism - To keep their value, all elements of [science](science.md) should be constantly criticized and questioned.

- Pancritical rationalism - All elements of science or truth should be constantly criticized and questioned, irrespective of any authority's justifications.

Deism - Reasoning is the only basis for knowledge. Thus, someone should only believe in God through reason, not tradition or gained insight.

Experientialism - Knowledge should be measured by experiences and first-hand accounts.

Foundationalism - We can be [certain](understanding-certainty.md) of beliefs when when they're based on self-evident basic beliefs that are based on non-belief things like experiences. Opposite of coherence theory of justification.

Functionalism - Since reductive materialism (see above) and logical behaviorism (see above) are wrong, we must consult [beliefs](understanding-certainty.md), [desires](purpose.md), and [emotions](mind-feelings.md) to [understand](understanding.md) people. The opposite of coherence theory of justification.

Falsificationism/Deductivism - Things are only [scientific](science.md) if there's a possibility they could be wrong.

Inductionism - We can use inductive reasoning on sets of information to create [theories and laws](lawsaxioms.md) to live by.

- Inductivism - The body of science is guided by previous scientific data, so it's always advancing toward truth.
- Psychologism - We can only grow in understanding via [philosophical study](philosophy.md).
- Scientism - We can best grow in understanding via [scientific study](science.md).

Instrumentalism - Knowledge doesn't need to be true, but must be useful.

Irrealism - We should swap phenomenalism (see above) with physicalism (see above) back-and-forth to understand things from the best perspective.

Kierkegaardianism - While truth may be absolute, finding the things that are subjective is the most important thing.

Methodological reductionism/Scientific reductionism/Occamism/Occam's razor - Explaining things should be continually reduced to the very simplest they can get, but no simpler.

- Greedy reductionism - Too many people reduce too much to too little.

Logical positivism - Philosophy should have the same rigor as [science](science.md), with strict rules for judging sentences as true, false, or meaningless.

- Comtism - All metaphysics and theology should be replaced by a hierarchy of [sciences](science.md) that start with [math](math.md) at the bottom to [sociology](groups-member.md) at the top.

Phenomenal conservatism - It's reasonable to assume things are as they appear unless there's a good reason to doubt it.

Skepticism - Doubt things that are held as knowledge.

- Postmodernism - Question absolutely everything.
- Probabiliorism - While knowledge is impossible, strong beliefs for likely things is a good idea. Opposed to probabilism.
- Probabilism - While knowledge is impossible, strong beliefs for practical things is a good idea. Opposited to probabiliorism.
- Pyrrhonism/Pyrrhonian skepticism - All things are unprovable, so learn to be comfortable knowing nothing for certain.

Structuralism - All elements of human culture are connected to a broader system.

- Post-structuralism - Since all elements of human culture are relative, there's no certain connection between any of them but there's a type of absolute to all of it.

Subjectivism - Things are subjective, and they either don't independently exist or it doesn't matter.

Syncretism - Contradicting things can be converged and unified into one harmonizing thought pattern.

### What is the most moral thing to do (greatest good)?

Altruism - People are morally required to serve the "greater good".

Antinatalism - Giving birth is a morally bad thing.

Antinomianism - Nobody has to follow moral laws, typically referring to theology.

Asceticism - The [good life](goodlife.md) requires refraining from pleasurable things in this world.

Careerism - The greatest good comes in someone advancing their career, even if it risks them growing in other areas of life.

Collectivism - People should serve the interests of the group, not the self. Opposite of egoism.

Consumerism - The greatest good is attachment to physical things.

Defeatism - The greatest good is to give up without a fight.

Egoism (normatively)/Ethical egoism - People should serve their own self-interests, not the group. Opposite of collectivism.

Emotionalism - Focusing on feelings is the greatest good.

Hedonism (ethics) - Pleasure is the greatest good.

- Epicureanism - Happiness comes from success in avoiding all forms of pain, in both mental worry and physical discomfort. Opposite of Stoicism.
- Utilitarianism - An act is moral when it maximizes the most wellness for the most people.

Humanistic naturalism - assuming naturalism (see above), humans are extensions of nature, so living naturally is the best way to live, which is against [industry](jobs-specialization.md) and [technology](technology.md).

Immoralism - Since morality doesn't matter, people should strive for an aesthetic (see below) that imitates living forever.

Intellectualism - Assuming rationalism (see above), reasoning is the best way to gain understanding.

Irrationalism - Science is inferior to intuition, and the ultimate transcendence of humanity comes through art and conquering aesthetics.

Mysticism - A good life comes from a direct experience that creates conscious awareness of ultimate reality, divinity, spiritual truth, or God.

Objectivism - At least some actions are universally right or wrong.

Pacifism - Peace is the greatest good.

Perfectionism - People live [the good life](goodlife.md) to the degree that they successfully do things that are part of their nature.

Randianism - People are best as heroic beings morally focused on [self-happiness](mind-feelings-happiness.md), focused on [productivity](success-3_goals.md) foremost, with their only absolute being [reason](logic.md). Often called objectivism by Randians.

Role ethics - People are best defined by their role in a [family](people-family.md).

Stoicism - Self-control of all types creates inner strength that builds harmony with the universe. Opposite of Epicureanism. Has largely been disproven by [psychology](science-social.md).

### Do we have free will?

Compatibilism/Soft determinism - Because we can [imagine](imagination.md) and [our environment](culture.md) profoundly impacts our decisions, determinism (see above) and free will can coexist. Opposite of incompatibilism.

Incompatibilism - Free will and determinism (see above) cannot [logically](logic.md) coexist.

Libertarianism (metaphysics) - Free will exists. Generally opposed to determinism.

Open theism/Openness theology/Free will theism - Since God and humans have free will, God's knowledge and providing are flexible.

Personalism - Only people are real, have value, and have free will.

### How can mankind be morally saved by an all-knowing God?

Soteriology - The theological study of salvation (soteria).

- Arminianism - Man's faith, empowered by God's grace, gives the condition for salvation. Jesus saves everyone who wants him, but people can resist the Holy Spirit.
- Calvinism/Janesenism - God's grace, empowering man, gives the condition for salvation. Jesus saves everyone by his decree, and people can't resist the Holy Spirit.
- Fideism/Solifidianism - Reasoning is only somewhat relevant to [religious belief](religion-answers.md).
- Gnosticism - Salvation depends on some degree of reasoning.
- Molinism - God has 3 types of knowledge: a permanent and immutable knowledge, condition-based knowledge, and free knowledge that can move around and he doesn't have to know everything all at once.
- Pelagianism - People are always able to choose good or evil, irrespective of any sin nature.
- Semipelagianism - People must make the first step toward God, then God will complete their salvation.

## Aesthetics

Aesthetics - The branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of [beauty and taste](values-quality.md) values.

### What should we define as quality?

Aestheticism - Art should be beautiful, but not necessarily have a [purpose](purpose.md).

Formalism (aesthetics) - Things should be assessed by their inherent [created](creations.md) quality or qualities, not by the social or historical context that it was made in or how much it evokes a feeling.

Romanticism - Art is an emotional experience based on the consumers' [feelings](mind-feelings.md).

### How should we [create](mind-creativity.md)?

Automatism/surrealist automatism - Spontaneously creating without any conscious self-censorship.

Classicism - Creating with a high regard for classical antiquity. A type of aesthetic absolutism. Contrasts against romanticism.

Expressionism - Creating by over-exaggerating to create an emotional effect. Contrasts to moral realism.

Modernism - Borrowing from humanism (see above), create with an emphasis on [science](science.md) and [technology](technology.md).

Primitivism - Pushing against intellectualism (see above), create with an emphasis on low-[technology](technology.md) experience and [feelings](mind-feelings.md).

Surrealism - Creating by using the element of surprise and unrelated things. Most of the creators tend to declare that they made a philosophical movement first and the works were just its byproduct.

Symbolism - Creating by using [representations](symbols.md) that carry particular meanings and patterns, which allow broader interpretation than literal representations would.

## Ethics

Ethics - The branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of [moral values](morality.md).

Cognitivism - Ethical statements can only be true or false. Opposite of non-cognitivism.

- Moral realism - Moral judgments express beliefs, which can only be true or false, so objective moral values exist.

Emotivism/Hurrah-boo theory - We make ethical statements based on our attitude about other statements, not as stand-alone ideas.

- Universal prescriptivism - Ethical statements always have a [purpose](purpose.md)-based part to them (e.g., "Killing is bad" always means "You shouldn't kill").

Expressivism - Moral statement (e.g., "wrongness", "goodness") never state real, metaphysical things. Thus, moral statements don't directly apply to truth. A middle ground between cognitivism and non-cognitivism.

Non-cognitivism - Ethical statements don't state facts or beliefs, so they're not matters of truth. Opposite of cognitivism.

Quasi-realism - Ethical statements aren't facts or beliefs, but do project emotional viewpoints as if they were real.

Value pluralism - Two or more moral values may be equally true, but also in conflict.

### Why are things good or bad?

Ascriptivism - Even if determinism (see above) is true, people are still responsible for their actions.

Consequentialism - The consequences from deicisions determine whether something was the right decision. Opposite of deontologism.

- Eudaimonism - Actions are good to the degree that they produce human flourishing.
- Situationalism/Situation ethics - Moral principles, while generally true, can be cast aside in certain situations if it's the most [loving](people-love.md) action.

Deontologism/Non-consequentialism - All moral values come from principles, so consequences never dictate morality. Opposite of consequentialism.

- Extrinsicism - External laws and precepts are more important than principles to determine moral conduct.
- Kantiamism - Morality is a matter of duty to "categorical imperatives", not [feelings](mind-feelings.md) or [purposes](purpose.md).

Humanism - A broad range of ethics that says humanity is the source of values.

- Meliorism - Progress is a real value, made by humans, that transcends natural things.
- Posthumanism - There's no special place for humanity in the universe.
- Secular/scientific humanism - Ethics and reason are the only legitimate means of gaining knowledge, with some supplementation from the arts.
- Transcendentalism - People must find a spiritual state to transcend their physical state.
  - Neo-Platonism - People must use philosophy to find a mystical union with the divine.
- Transhumanism/>H/H+ - [Science](science.md) and [technology](technology.md) can overcome human limitations and improve the human condition.
  - Extropianism - [Science](science.md) and [technology](technology.md) will someday let people live functionally forever.
  - Singularitarianism - A [technological](technology.md) singularity with smarter-than-human intelligence is possible, and its coming must be preserved.
- Religious humanism - Religious rituals/beliefs harmonize with centering on human needs, interests, and abilities.
  - Christian humanism - Christian rituals/beliefs harmonize with centering on human needs, interests, and abilities.

Moral absolutism - We can judge moral questions against absolute standards, so some things are universally right/wrong irrespective of the context. Opposite of moral relativism.

Moral relativism - Presuming relativism (see above), morality is completely relative to indviduals or their [culture](culture.md). Opposite of moral absolutism.

Moral universalism/Universalism - Moral statements can apply universally. A middle ground between moral absolutism and moral relativism.

## [Government/Politics](groups-large.md)

### Can we understand politics and society?

Behavioralism - Political activity can be measured and explained with a [scientific](science.md), unbiased approach.

Formalism (economic anthropology) - Far-reaching principles of economics can apply to *all* humanity.

Interactionism - Large-scale elements of society form through [social interaction](people-conversation.md).

Social atomism - Every [group of people](groups-small.md) should be assessed by each individual, since their collective [purposes](purpose.md) constitute the entire group's actions.

### What's wrong with society?

Anarchism - Remove rulers/governors.

- Anarcho-primitivism - The shifts from [technology](technology.md) created a [hierarchy](mgmt-badsystems.md), so we must remove [specialization](jobs-specialization.md) and technology to create fairness.
- Anarcho-syndicalism - Replace capitalism, wages, private property, and the state with labor unions for everything.

Complementarianism - [Females and males](gender.md) are far too different to compete fairly. Contrasts with feminism.

Environmentalism - [High-technology](technology.md) humanity destroys nature, so low-technology living is the solution.

Feminism - Females should never be unequal to males. Contrasts with complementarianism.

Marxism - Because of dialectical materialism (see above), all [social classes](classes.md) will eventually be destroyed as the weaker gain more [power](power.md) through social darwinism (see above).

- Communism - Abolish all private property.
- Distributism - Whenever anyone makes things, everyone gets a portion of it, with no central control over it.
- Neo-Marxism - A broad term for things that adapt the Marxist theory to fit new social standards (e.g., critical race).
- Socialism - Specific collectives control everything. It's often claimed as the transitionary stage into communism.

Mohism - People are unevenly [loving](people-love.md) toward others, and should balance it more fairly.

Reconstructivism - Society should continually rebuild and remake itself to become more perfect.

### Who should have power in society?

Communalism - The government should focus on protecting cultures and groups. Opposite of individualism.

- Communitarianism - Because society forms [identity](identity.md) and [personality](personality.md), the individual *and* the community must be protected.

Conservatism - [Traditions and cultures](culture.md) should be cherished.

Egalitarianism/Equalitarianism - Everyone should be treated as equals.

Individualism - The government should focus on protecting individuals. Opposite of communalism.

Liberalism - Individuals should be free to do as they please.

- Libertarianism - Individuals should be free to do as they please, without large group intervention.

Mercantilism/Colbertism - A society should concern aim for the best interests of its own people.

- Fascism - Everyone should be loyal to their nation, more than anything else.

Nativism - Presuming ethnocentrism (see above), the original [culture](culture.md) of a [group](groups-large.md) has more important values than the culture of people joining the group.

[Contractarianism](people-contracts.md)/Social contract - People give up some of their [power](power.md) to governments to protect the rest of their rights or maintain [order](people-boundaries.md).

Social Darwinism - Some people are more fit to rule society than others.

- Critical race - Some racially-divided [groups of people](groups-large.md) are so [powerful](power.md) that other groups are destined to always lag behind, so rulers must help those weaker races.

Speciesism - Social status should be based on species membership, usually implying that humans have more value than other animals.

Techno-progressivism/Democratic transhumanism - Everyone should equally access transhuman technologies.

Youthism - Young people should have the same [rights](people-boundaries.md) as adults.

### How should we pick our leaders?

Capitalism/laissez-faire economy/free market economy/free enterprise system/economic liberalism/economic individualism - Everyone owns stuff and a free market sets the prices of everything.

- Anarcho-capitalism/Voluntaryism - The private sector's free market, not the natural monopoly of the government, should control everything.

Democracy - The subjects should choose their rulers.

- Associationalism/Associative democracy - Voluntary and democratically self-governing associations should run as much of society as possible.

Political absolutism - One person should hold all the power.

- Enlightened absolutism - One person who does things that benefit the subjects should hold all the power.

Secularism - The government shouldn't include [religion](religion-answers.md) in its rule.

Theocracy - The government should rule by a specific [religion's](religion-answers.md) doctrine.

- Islamism - Everyone must abide by the Qu'ran's Sharia Law.

### How should we enforce laws?

Authoritarianism - Leaders' power should be used with extreme force, in domains that the subjects will often not like.

- Totalitarianism/Statism - The government should control nearly every part of public and private behavior.

Formalism (legal) - The fairness of the process is more important than its outcomes.

Individualism (politics) - Governments should protect the best interests of individuals, not groups.

Legal interpretivism - [Laws](rules.md) are not a set of facts or data, but frameworks made by lawyers, and completely open to interpretation. They also dictate [morality](morality.md). The opposite of natural law.

Legal positivism/Positive law - Human beings made laws, so they're not necessarily ethical or moral. Distinct from natural law.

- Legal naturalism - Natural law itself is simply made by society.

Natural law - There are specific, unaltered [patterns](humanity-universals.md) in human nature that laws must conform with to be ethical. Distinct from positive law.

- Legal realism - Laws should reflect the natural laws of [science](science.md).

Legalism - Making laws should follow a mechanical, logical way of interpreting laws from previous rulings, regardless of the context those laws were made in.

- Original intent/Originalism - The laws should be interpreted by the [purpose](purpose.md) the law-writers were trying to achieve.

## Philosophy's [Purpose](purpose.md) and [Culture](culture.md)

Aristotelianism/Perpatetic school/Scotism - Start with the facts that experience gives things.

- Neo-Aristotelianism - See things the way the [creators](creations.md) originally saw it.

Cognitivism - Sentences people say come from their brain, and can be declared as [logically](logic.md) true or false.

Contextualism - People can only understand something within the context where something happens.

Eclecticism - To fully understand things, you need more than 1 set of assumptions and have to look at it from different viewpoints. Syncretism, but more broad.

Particularism - Ask "what do I know?" before "how do I know?"

Platonic school - Start with the ideals, then work downward into the experiences.

Scholasticism/Dialectical method - Use conversations between opposing views to draw distinctions and resolve contradictions.

Sophism (ancient) - Teaching with a heavy emphasis on virtue.

Sophism/Sophistry (modern) - Giving an illogical argument, especially to deceive.

Thomism - Someone should accept truth, no matter how they found it.

Truth claim - A [logical](logic.md) sentence stated as either true or false, and claimed to be true.