- KEY PHILOSOPHICAL CONCEPTS -

CONCEPT DEFINITION

Some pursue the meaning of life as discovering the core truth regarding
MEANING OF LIFE the self. So it can be considered a way of ‘who am I?’ to find self
discloser. Most commonly, one ask to seek the purpose or point of life
itself and what defines a ‘good life’

The absurdity thesis was constructed by philosopher Thomas Nagel

ABSURDITY THESIS (1937). This thesis refers to a “conspicuous discrepancy between
pretension or aspiration and reality’ the absurdity thesis at the core
claims that there is “objective meaningless of human life” and an overall
lack of rational justification

Transcendental encourages the intuitive and spiritual above the empirical

USUAL AND and material. God or the Gods above are beyond ourselves
TRANSCENDENTAL
Usual is the specific attitude or manner through which a person thinks
about something

“nothing we do will matter in a million years” means that he believes that

FUTURE SIGNIFICANCE figuratively nothing we do has proper justification, that all our deeds,
relationships ect will have no difference to whether we have lived at all.

“Our lives are mere instants even on a geological time scale” Nagel
DWARFING ARGUMENT argues that we are mere specs in the cosmos. It was meant to disclose
cosmically speaking we as humans are insignificant

Nagel discloses that in summary “we are all going to die…it is all an
DEATH ARGUMENT elaborate journey leading nowhere” The thought here seems to say that
life is deprived of meaning or rational justification

The ontological argument for gods existence begins with a foundational

ONTOLOGICAL ARGUMENT definition of god, then the attributes, followed by the conclusion.
Composed in the pattern ‘D, A1, A2, C’

COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT The cosmological argument starts from the fact that there is a cosmos
and argues that this reality alone points towards the necessity of God

It is split into four major claims; morality, law, relationships and survival
PROBLEM OF IDENTITY beyond death. Personal identity fits into this theory as overall each
person experiences this but rather in different ways.
 First person concept refers to the point of view of “i” as the way in which
FIRST V THIRD PERSON the human subject has access to their world and experiences.

Third person view looks at consciousness as it exists in others.

SOUL/MIND THEORY Our innermost self that which a person most essentially is, the soul
remains constant throughout

Locke argues that personal identity is based on the relationship between

MEMORY THEORY OF a person's present and past consciousness. He believes that a person's
IDENTITY identity is maintained as long as their memories and experiences are
connected by a chain of direct or indirect recollection.

The philosophical view that mind and body (or matter) are fundamentally
MIND/BODY RELATIONSHIP distinct kinds of substances or natures.

The problem arises because the mind is considered to be non-physical,

PROBLEMS WITH IT while the body is physical, and it is unclear how the two can interact or be
connected.

Concept in epistemology refers to knowledge that is expressed in the

PROPOSITION KNOWLEGE form of propositions or statements. It is the "justified true belief," which
means that for a person to have knowledge of a proposition, they must
believe it to be true, have a good justification for their belief, and the
proposition must actually be true.

What they all share is the capacity to show that someone could hold a
GETTIER CASES justified true belief and still lack knowledge. They function as challenges
to the philosophical tradition of defining knowledge of a proposition as
justified true belief in that proposition.

The fundamental idea of virtue epistemology is, Knowledge is a true

VIRTUE EPISTEMOLOGY belief that is gained as a result of the operation of reliable epistemic
virtues or cognitive faculties.

CORRESPONDENCE THEORY correspondence theory, truth is a relationship. It is a relationship of

OF TRUTH correspondence between a proposition and a fact

COHERENCE THEORY OF The truth of a statement is a function of its coherence with other
TRUTH statements we already believe to be true

The pragmatic theory of truth states that: the truth of an idea is to be

PRAGMATIST THEORY OF assessed in the light of its usefulness; its utility or ‘cash value’ example:
TRUTH the mark of a successful scientific theory is that it enables us to
manipulate nature in new ways. Truth ‘works.’
 Philosophical ethics is focused on the Right and the Good. It is
concerned equally:
ETHICS 1. with understanding, elaborating and justifying the general principles of
right action
2. with understanding, elaborating and justifying conceptions of the
Human good.

Metaethics: how we can rationally discern moral value (epistemology), by

specifying the sources of this value (metaphysics), as well as the whole
issue of whether moral value exists at all outside of human valuing.
Normative ethics: It is concerned with the guiding principles that should
LEVELS OF ETHICAL direct all action, by specifying general norms for action (which then have
REFLECTION to be applied in the particular situation).
Applied ethics: involved in difficult moral dilemmas, looks at ways to
apply the norms in situations. There are various areas of applied ethics,
including sexual, business and medical ethics, and the ethics of war and
international relations.

CULTURAL MORAL This focuses on the culturally-specific nature of moral truth. Ethical
REALIVISTS norms are simply a matter of cultural or social convention. They are rules
for behaviour that have arisen within a particular culture for all manner of
very feasible historical reasons.

ETHICAL/MORAL This sees the individual person (or ‘subject’) as the source of their own
SUBJECTIVISTS standards of morality: moral norms are simply the expression of the
individual’s feelings, attitudes, desires, reasonings or preferences. When it
comes to moral matters, it is “up to the individual”.

ETHICAL REALISM claim that moral norms and judgements are either true or false and that
such moral truths are universally valid.

ETHICAL/MORAL REALISTS hold that right and wrong are objective facts (i.e., ‘moral facts’) that are
‘out there’ in the world independent of any particular time or place or
culture or individual:

hold that moral fact are not discoverable since they do not exist in their
RELAVISTS own right. The natural world has no in-built moral facts: morality isn’t so
much a matter of correct or mistaken moral codes, but rather of
particular ethical conventions that either ‘work’ for the group concerned
or need to be adapted.
 There are three approaches to normative ethics:
Denontolgoy: Deontology is concerned with notions of duty, or moral
obligation; According to Kant, an action is moral only if the principle it
implies is universalisable as a general moral law. Universalisability is both
NORMATIVE ETHICS necessary and sufficient for a moral action→ Freedom is not in doing
what you want, but in giving yourself to the moral law.
Consequenntialism: concerned with the consequences of our actions;
achieve “the greatest good [i.e., happiness/ pleasure] for the greatest
number of people”.
Virtue ethics: It defines good actions as ones that display embody
virtuous character traits, like courage, loyalty, or wisdom.

the study of the foundations and the nature of society and the state; an
attempt to formulate a vision of the ideal society and implement ideas
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY and reforms in our own society to better achieve this” (Solomon &
Higgins, 2014, pg. 7).
political philosophy asks what kind of life is proper, good and just for a
person amongst people

what would exist if there were no government, no civilization, no laws,

“NATURAL CONDITION” OF and no common power to restrain human nature
HUMANKIND
for civilization to be possible, there must be co-operation between
individuals: Trust is impossible in the chaos of the ‘natural condition‛ in
THOMAS HOBBES IDEA which the kinder and gentler sides of human nature are all but obliterated.
authoritative superior power (the state) – which enforces the law, and
has at its disposal serious sanctions for law-breakers – is able to provide
the kind of basic security within which trust (and even kindness) is able to
flourish.

Three major themes:

1. Retributive justice: the theory of just legal punishment for violations of
DISRUPTIVE JUSTICE the law;

2. Just war theory: elaborating the principles of the just conduct of war

3. Distributive justice: the theory of the just distribution of the benefits

and burdens of social cooperation.

MONARCHY political system based upon the undivided sovereignty or rule of a single
person.

CONSTITUTIONAL system of government in which a monarch (see monarchy) shares

MONARCHY power with a constitutionally organized government.
 ARISTOCRACY ‘Rule by self / one (person, group)

OLIGARCHY ‘Rule by the few’

DEMOCRACY Rule by the people

RAWL’S VIEW OF JUSTICE begins from the premise that society is a cooperative endeavour for the
mutual benefit of individuals. The overriding concern here is that such
cooperation should benefit and burden each member fairly. Fairness is
arrived at through mutual agreement or consent: two major assumptions
1. That the circumstances of one’s birth (e.g. one’s sex, race, genetic
abilities, the level of wealth one is born into, etc.) are irrelevant to what
one deserves in life.
2. That all goods are to be distributed equally unless it is clear that an
unequal distribution would be to everyone's advantage. But equality is the
default position.

NOZICK’S VIEW OF JUSTICE Nozick’s rights-based theory: begins from the idea that individuals are the
bearers of certain inalienable rights. The role and value of justice is to
secure and maintain these rights: Libertarianism is a position in political
philosophy that maintains that the liberty or freedom of the individual is
the only fundamental political value