Philosophy A-Level
Philosophy A-Level glossary
40 key terms for Philosophy A-Level, A to Z, each linked to the topic pages that use it.
A
- A Priori vs A Posteriori Proofs
- Evaluation of arguments derived from definition (Ontological) versus those derived from empirical observation of the universe (Cosmological and Teleological).AQA
C
- Categorical Imperative
- An unconditional moral obligation that is binding in all circumstances and is not dependent on a person's inclination or purpose.AQA
- Category Mistake
- An error in which things of one kind are presented as if they belonged to another, as identified by Gilbert Ryle regarding the 'Ghost in the Machine'.AQA
- Cognitivism vs. Non-cognitivism
- The semantic debate regarding whether moral statements function as truth-apt propositions (Cognitivism) or as expressions of non-cognitive attitudes such as…AQA
E
- Eliminative Materialism
- The radical physicalist claim that our common-sense 'folk psychology' understanding of the mind is fundamentally flawed and will be replaced by neuroscience.AQA
- Epiphenomenalism
- The view that mental states are caused by physical processes in the brain, but have no causal effect on the physical world.AQA
- Epistemic Luck
- When a belief happens to be true by coincidence or accident, rather than because of the justification.AQA
- Ethical Naturalism vs. Non-naturalism
- The conflict between the reductionist claim that moral properties are identical to natural, empirical facts and the Moorean view that moral properties are…AQA
- Eudaimonia
- Often translated as 'happiness', but better understood as 'human flourishing' or 'living and doing well'.AQA
F
- Folk Psychology
- The common-sense framework of mental states, such as beliefs and desires, used by humans to explain and predict behavior.AQA
- Functionalism
- The theory that mental states are defined by their causal roles (inputs, outputs, and relations to other mental states) rather than their internal constitution.AQA
G
- Gettier Case
- A scenario where a subject has a justified true belief, but lacks knowledge due to epistemic luck.AQA
- Good Will
- For Kant, the only thing that is good without qualification; a will that acts out of duty and reverence for the moral law.AQA
H
- Hedonic Calculus
- Bentham's algorithm for measuring the quantity of pleasure or pain an action will produce across seven dimensions.AQA
I
- Individually Necessary
- A condition that must be present for the definition to be met.AQA
J
- Jointly Sufficient
- A set of conditions that, when all present together, are enough to guarantee the definition is met.AQA
- Justified True Belief (JTB)
- The traditional tripartite definition of propositional knowledge, requiring truth, belief, and justification.AQA
L
- Leibniz's Law
- The principle of the indiscernibility of identicals: if two things are identical, they must share all the exact same properties.AQA
M
- Machine State Functionalism
- The view that any creature with a mind can be modeled as a Turing machine, where mental states are logical states.AQA
- Moral Realism vs. Anti-realism
- The ontological investigation into whether moral properties exist as mind-independent facts (Realism) or are subjective, social, or psychological constructs…AQA
- Moral Status and Personhood
- The criteria for moral consideration, scrutinizing the philosophical thresholds of sentience, rationality, and potentiality in medical and environmental…AQA
- Multiple Realizability
- The thesis that the same mental state (e.g., pain) can be implemented by different physical substrates or systems.AQA
N
- Non-reductive Physicalism
- The position that while the mental is produced by the physical, it cannot be reduced to it, allowing for higher-level mental laws.AQA
- Normative Application
- The systematic translation of abstract principles, such as the Categorical Imperative or the Principle of Utility, into concrete moral directives for…AQA
P
- Phronesis (Practical Wisdom)
- The intellectual virtue of practical reason; the ability to discern the right course of action in specific circumstances.AQA
- Property Dualism
- The theory that there is only one kind of substance (physical), but two distinct kinds of properties: physical and mental.AQA
- Propositional Knowledge
- Knowledge that a claim or statement is true (knowing *that* p).AQA
Q
- Qualia
- The subjective, first-person 'what it is like' quality of conscious experience, often cited as a challenge to physicalism.AQA
R
- Rationalism vs Empiricism
- The tension between a priori ontological reasoning, which seeks to define God into existence through pure logic, and a posteriori cosmological/teleological…AQA
S
- Sanctity vs. Quality of Life
- The tension between the inherent value of life (Imago Dei) and the instrumental value based on well-being, autonomy, or the avoidance of suffering.AQA
- Substance Dualism
- The ontological view that the mind and the body are two distinct and independent substances.AQA
- Supervenience
- A relationship where there can be no mental change without a corresponding physical change, though the mental is not necessarily reducible to the physical.AQA
T
- The Coherence of the Divine Attributes
- Critical analysis of the logical compatibility of omniscience, omnipotence, and omnibenevolence, specifically addressing the Paradox of the Stone and the…AQA
- The Falsification Debate
- The challenge posed by Antony Flew, based on Karl Popper’s philosophy of science, suggesting that religious claims are meaningless because no conceivable…AQA
- The Nature of Necessity
- Exploration of God as a 'necessary being' (ens necessarium) in contrast to the contingent nature of the universe, involving the Principle of Sufficient Reason.AQA
- The Verification Principle
- The logical positivist criterion, primarily associated with the Vienna Circle, asserting that a statement is only meaningful if it is a tautology or…AQA
- Theodicy and the Challenge of Evil
- The critical evaluation of whether the existence of suffering is logically or evidentially compatible with the traditional divine attributes of omnipotence…AQA
- Theodicy and the Problem of Evil
- Assessment of the logical and evidential challenges posed by the existence of moral and natural evil to the concept of an all-powerful, all-loving deity.AQA
- Turing Machine
- A mathematical model of computation that defines an abstract machine that manipulates symbols on a strip of tape according to a table of rules.AQA
U
- Utility
- The property in any object whereby it tends to produce benefit, advantage, pleasure, good, or happiness.AQA
Where these terms come from
Each definition is one we publish on a Philosophy A-Level topic page or study guide. Open a term to see how each exam board words it and which topic it belongs to. For the full course, go to Philosophy revision or the glossary for every subject.
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