Philosophical Issues, TRU-āST
Are you ready to delve into the myriad possible answers to such complex questions as "What makes an action virtuous?" or "What is the nature of consciousness?" Do you embrace weighty topics such as the relative merits of empiricism and rationalism? An inquisitive spirit is all but a prerequisite for many of the topics listed here, which deal with the different approaches to and ideas about the big questions of life.
Philosophical Issues Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Truth
Truth, in metaphysics and the philosophy of language, the property of sentences, assertions, beliefs, thoughts,......
Truth table
Truth table, in logic, chart that shows the truth-value of one or more compound propositions for every possible......
Truth-value
Truth-value, in logic, truth (T or 1) or falsity (F or 0) of a given proposition or statement. Logical connectives,......
twin paradox
twin paradox, an apparent anomaly that arises from the treatment of time in German-born physicist Albert Einstein’s......
Unified science
Unified science, in the philosophy of logical positivism, a doctrine holding that all sciences share the same language,......
Universal
Universal, in philosophy, an entity used in a certain type of metaphysical explanation of what it is for things......
universals, Problem of
Problem of universals, in metaphysics, the question of whether there are universals—“general” things of which particular......
upadhi
upadhi, in Indian philosophy, the concept of adventitious limiting conditions. In logic, upadhi operates as follows:......
upamana
upamana, in Indian philosophy, the fourth of the five means (pramanas) by which one can have valid cognitions of......
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism, in normative ethics, a tradition stemming from the late 18th- and 19th-century English philosophers......
Vaisheshika
Vaisheshika, one of the six systems (darshans) of Indian philosophy, significant for its naturalism, a feature......
Validity
Validity, In logic, the property of an argument consisting in the fact that the truth of the premises logically......
Vedanta
Vedanta, one of the six systems (darshans) of Indian philosophy. The term Vedanta means in Sanskrit the “conclusion”......
Verifiability principle
Verifiability principle, a philosophical doctrine fundamental to the school of Logical Positivism holding that......
vijñāna-skandha
vijñāna-skandha, in Buddhist philosophy, one of the five skandhas, or aggregates, that constitute all that exists.......
Virtue ethics
Virtue ethics, Approach to ethics that takes the notion of virtue (often conceived as excellence) as fundamental.......
Vishishtadvaita
Vishishtadvaita, one of the principal branches of Vedanta, a system (darshan) of Indian philosophy. This school......
vitalism
vitalism, school of scientific thought—the germ of which dates from Aristotle—that attempts (in opposition to mechanism......
voluntarism
voluntarism, any metaphysical or psychological system that assigns to the will (Latin: voluntas) a more predominant......
Western Philosophers: Timeline, History, and Movements
Philosophy is the rational, abstract, and methodical consideration of reality and the fundamental dimensions of......
What Are the Four Main Greek Concepts of Love?
Ancient Greek literature gave the world enduring love stories: the descent of Orpheus into the underworld for Eurydice,......
What is the either-or fallacy?
The either-or fallacy, also called a false dilemma, is a logical error that happens when someone presents only......
whataboutism
whataboutism, the rhetorical practice of responding to an accusation or difficult question by making a counteraccusation,......
What’s the Difference Between Morality and Ethics?
Generally, the terms ethics and morality are used interchangeably, although a few different communities (academic,......
World-Soul
World-Soul, soul ascribed to the physical universe, on the analogy of the soul ascribed to human beings and other......
Wuxing
Wuxing, originally a moral theory associated with Zisi, the grandson of Confucius, and Mencius. In the 3rd century......
Yi-gi debates
Yi-gi debates, series of religious and philosophical arguments about the essential (yi; Chinese li: “principle”)......
Yinyang
Yinyang, in Eastern thought, the two complementary forces that make up all aspects and phenomena of life. Yin is......
Yoga
Yoga, one of the six systems (darshans) of Indian philosophy. Its influence has been widespread among many other......
Yogachara
Yogachara, an influential idealistic school of Mahayana Buddhism. Yogachara attacked both the complete realism......
Zhdanovshchina
Zhdanovshchina, cultural policy of the Soviet Union during the Cold War period following World War II, calling......
ānanda
ānanda, (Sanskrit: “joy,” or “bliss”), in Indian philosophy of the Upaniṣads and the school of Vedānta, an important......
āsrāva
āsrāva, in Buddhist philosophy, the illusion that ceaselessly flows out from internal organs (i.e., five sense......
āstika
āstika, in Indian philosophy, any orthodox school of thought, defined as one that accepts the authority of the......