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aid the student in removing, or at least in ,
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in ■ the ■ Department of ; Philosophy have . ;
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the more important and frequently used" '.'
terms in their respective fields·. Though a ·:.
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DICTIONARY^
SCHOLASTIC PHILOSOPHY
ABIOGENESIS (Gr. a, privation, and bios, life,
genesis, origin) spontaneous generation or the de­
rivation of life from non-living agents.
ABSOLUTE (L. absolutus, free from) being as
unconditioned, independent of and unrelated to any­
thing else. In the concrete order, God is sometimes
called The Absolute Being. Ant: relative; syn: the
independent, uncaused, self-sufficient.
ABSOLUTISM (L. ut supra, ab, from, and sol­
vere, loosen, cut off) is a form of Hegelian Monism
which reduces everything real to one ideal or mental
being called The Absolute.
ABSTRACT (L. Abstrahere, to draw away from)
qualifies a perfection inasmuch as it is considered
independently of a subject in which it may reside.
Ant: concrete; syn: formal.
ACCIDENT (L. accidere, to happen) strictly, that
reality which exists in another, as quantity, quality,
relation, etc. In a loose sense, any attribute, quality
or property of a substance or thing. Ant: substance;
syn: modification, quality.
ACCIDENT predicable, that non-essential part of
a subject which merely happens to be connected with
the essence, the connection being casual, not causal.
An inseparable accident (property) is always pres­
ent, while a separable accident is sometimes present
and sometimes absent, as quantity in material sub­
stance; sickness in a man or animal.
ACCIDENT a category (see accident above).

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Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

ACT (L. actus) may mean either the perfection
of a being (substantial or accidental), or the exist­
ence of a being. It does not mean a process, but
rather a product. It is “the complement or actuality
Of passive potentiality.” Ant: potency; syn: per­
fection.
ACT pure, reality in >which there is no passive .
potentiality, i. e., the Divine Being exclusively.
ACT mixed, a being in which there is both per­
fection and imperfection, as created things.
ACTION (L. agere, to do) is movement, motion,
process, becoming, the exercise of an operative
power, as to write, speak, etc. Ant: passion.
ACTION immanent, one whose source and whose
objective lie within the same agent, as vital actions.
ACTION transient, one which begins within the
agent but which terminates outside the agent, as
writing, painting, etc.
AESTHETIC (Gr. aisthanomai, perceive) artis­
tic, beautiful.
AESTHETIC categories, the various forms and
degrees of beauty, as pretty, beautiful, sublime,
ridiculous, etc.
AESTHETICS, the theory of beauty, the philoso­
phy of art.
AGNOSTICISM (Gr. a, neg., and gignosko,
know) the doctrine of those who hold that the
supra-sensible and supernatural are unknowable,
beyond the power of the mind to grasp. Ant: dogmatism, intellectualism; syn: sensism, positivism,
partial scepticism.
ALCHEMY (Arab, al, the, and kimia, Egyptian
art or pouring) the science of the transmutation of
metals; mediaeval chemistry.
ALPHA RAY (Alpha, first letter of Greek alpha­
bet, and radius [L], line from center) a stream of

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Dictionary of'Terms in Philosophy

3

positively charged particles emitted from radio­
active bodies; discovered by Rutherford and Soddy.
ALTRUISM (L. alter, other) is that ethical theory
which makes the good of others, especially of society
at large, the ultimate criterion of morality. Ant:
egoism.
AMPHIBOLY (Gr. amphi, on both sides, and ballein to throw) a fallacy due to the arrangement of
words, phrases and clauses, e. g., “He had a book
in his hand which was spotted with ink.”
ANALOGICAL (Gr. ana, according to, and logos,
proportion) having a relation of similarity together
with some dissimilarity. Ant: univocal, equivocal;
syn: similar.
ANALOGICAL term, one that is predicated of
different things partly in the same sense and partly
in a different sense, or one that is applied to unlike
things because of a proportional resemblance be­
tween them, e. g., being, thing, cause, unity, etc.
ANALOGY (Gr. analogia, proportion, ratio) the
attribution or denial of a characteristic to one thing
because it has several features in common with an­
other thing which possesses (or does not possess)
the characteristic. Analogy of qualities.—The at­
tribution (or denial) of a consequent to one relation
because this relation resembles another which takes
(or does not take) such consequent. Analogy of
Relations.
ANALYTIC (Gr. analyticos, resolving into ele­
ments) judgment is one in which the notion of the
subject involves (or excludes) the predicate; or the
notion of the predicate involves (or excludes) thé
subject. Ant: synthetic, a posteriori; syn: a priori.
ANTHROPOMORPHISM (Gr. anthropos, . man,
and morpha, form) the doctrine or practise of ex­
plaining superhuman and sub-human entities and

7

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Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

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events in terms of the human; the tendency to at­
tribute human characteristics to things not human.
APPEARANCE (L. apparere, come into view) the
qualities or accidents of things; phenomena. Ant:
substance, noumenon, reality.
APPRECIATION (L. pretium, price) the process
of aesthetic enjoyment; exercise of taste, artistic
evaluation, critical estimation.
APPREHENSION, simple (L. apprehendere, to
seize) is the act of the mind insofar as it neither
affirms nor denies, but merely places an object be­
fore the consciousness; an unrelated concept or idea,
mental word.
ARGUMENT (L. argumentum, proof) consists in
offering reasons and causes in support of a conclu­
sion. Syn: reasoning, discussion. ,
ARGUMENT cosmological (Gr. cosmos, world,
logos, study) reasons offered in proof of God’s ex­
istence, taken from the order that exists in the
world.

ARGUMENT henological (Gr. eis, one, and logos,
study) a proof for God’s existence in which the
reasoning proceeds from multiplicity to unity, from
the various forms of finite reality to their one nec­
essary source.
ARGUMENT metaphysical, one in which analysis
of the nature of objects and facts is the sole ground
of comparison, e. g., proving the soul’s future preservation from its nature as a simple, spiritual thing.
ARGUMENT moral, for God’s existence based on
man’s consciousness of universal and absolute bind­
ing character of the moral law, or upon the univer­
sal and constant agreement of men on the question
of the existence of a supreme being.
ART (L. ars) the expression of beauty, the imita­
tion of nature, the deliberate .communication of in-

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Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

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fectious feeling, the proper conception of a work to
be accomplished. Loosely, design, method, skill.

ARTISAN (L. artire, to instruct in arts) a crafts­
man, mechanic, engineer.

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’ARTISTRY, method, execution, technique or
craftsmanship.
ASSENT (L. assentiri, agree) intellectual acceptance of a given proposition.
ASSOCIATIONISM (L. associare, to be allied) is
a theory of knowledge in which the judgment is
reduced to a mere association of ideas. (J. S. Mill
and other English philosophers)
ATHEISM (Gr. a, neg., and theos, God) a system
of thought which denies the existence of God. Ant:
theism.
ATOM (Gr. a, neg., and temnein, to cut) the
smallest part of an element postulated by Dalton;
an indivisible particle of matter.
ATOMIC number, the number of planetary elec­
trons in a neutral atom; the place an element has in
the periodic table; the positive charge on the nucleus.
ATOMISM (Gr. ut supra) the theory of Democ­
ritus and Lucretius that bodies are ultimately com­
posed of infinitesimal homogeneous corpuscles or
particles.
ATTRIBUTE (L. attribuere, to grant, give pay)
a substantial or accidental perfection of a thing. In
Theodicy, the perfections which, according to our
way of understanding, flow from the divine nature.
ATTRIBUTE essential, one which reveals the na­
ture of a subject; a characteristic without which the
thing could not be what it is, e. g., three sides in a
triangle.
ATTRIBUTE non-essential, one which reveals
something incidental to the nature of a subject; a

6

Dictionary ôf Terms in Philosophy

characteristic which does not enter into the essence,
e. g., color, quantity.
ATTRIBUTION (L. attribuere, to grant) the act
of predicating something of a subject. Syn: predica­
tion, affirming or denying.
AUTHORITY, (L. auctor, author) in Ethics, the
moral power of obliging the members of a society
to so act that by their united efforts a common end
may be obtained. The person or persons in whom
that power resides. Syn: power, rule, sway, empire,
supremacy, sovereignty.

AUTHORITY in History, a person more than or­
dinarily well qualified to. speak on a given subject,
hence one to whose opinion appeal may be made in
order to settle a controversy. Syn: sage, master,
wizard, expert.
AUTHORITY in Epistemology, a person or group
of persons, or a human document whose credibility
can be confirmed by sound argument. A statement
must be accepted as true if it is made by an infal­
lible authority. Human authority is infallible when
the two following conditions are simultaneously ful­
filled: 1) when it announces simple facts rather than
interpretations of facts; and 2) when it is cumula­
tive. (See moral certitude.)
BEAUTY (L. bellus, pretty; Fr. beauté.) that
whose contemplation pleases; that which has sym­
metry and proportion; fairness, charm, loveliness.
Mercier calls beauty the expression of order and per­
fection. St. Thomas says that there are three ob­
jective factors in the beautiful: i. e., clarity, splen­
dor, lustre; completeness or perfection; and har­
mony or proportion. This last factor includes unity
in variety, symmetry, balance, order, rhythm, con­
cord, etc.

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

7

BECOMING, the transition from a potential to an
actual state of being. Syn: process, change.
BEHAVIORISM, the doctrine of those who main­
tain that the subject matter of Psychology is ex­
clusively man’s external conduct, visible actions and
reactions.
,
BEING, whatever exists or may exist, whatever'
can become an object of thought.
BEING logical, that which can exist only as a
thought object.
BEING potential, one which does not actually
exist, but which may come into existence. Syn:
changeable being.
BEING real, being which exists independently of
the human mind.
BELIEF, knowledge accepted as true on the word
or the authority of another; assent based on extrin­
sic evidence; faith, creed/
BETA RAYS (see “alpha rays” above), a stream
of electrons emitted by radioactive substances in the
process of disintegration.
BODY, a material substance having three dimen­
sions. Ant: spirit.

CATEGORICAL imperative, a Kantian phrase
signifying that the highest source of moral obligation
is man’s own will or practical intellect.
CATEGORIES (Gr. katagorein, to assert), the
supreme genera or classes into which all being may
be classified. Syn: predicaments.
CATHARSIS (Gr. katharsis, cleanse), purgation;
release or outlet of emotion afforded by art. (Aris­
totle)
CAUSALITY (L. causalitas), the operation by
which an agent produces something really distinct
from itself.

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy
CAUSATION, the principle by virtue of which
anything is produced.
CAUSE (L. causa), a principle in virtue of which
something is produced; that which exercises influ­
ence upon or contributes to the being or the becom­
ing of anything; an agent inasfar as it is capable
of producing something really distinct from itself.
Ant : effect ; syn : origin, source.
CAUSE efficient, an extrinsic principle which by
its action produces some other thing.
CAUSE final, that good on account of which an
agent produces a certain effect; a motive or end;
that for the sake of which something is done.
CAUSE formal, the intrinsic principle which
places an effect in a definite species, and thus dif­
ferentiates it from everything else.
CAUSE instrumental, an efficient cause that pro­
duces an effect only in so far as it is subordinated
to and moved by the principal cause.
CAUSE joint, two or more factors taken as a col­
lective whole, and contributing in any positive way
to the bringing about of an effect.
CAUSE material, an intrinsic principle out of
which anything is made.
CAUSE moral, an efficient cause which by threats,
counsel, warning, and so on, induces a physical agent
to produce an effect; whatever incites a physical
cause to produce an effect, e. g., wages, honors, dis­
tinctions.
CAUSE physical, an efficient cause by virtue of
which an effect is immediately produced.
CAUSE principal, an efficient cause capable of
subordinating to itself another cause in the produc­
tion of an effect.

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Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

9

• CERTITUDE (L. certus, certain, cernere, to de­
cide) a) subjectively, the unwavering and fearless
assent of the mind to a given proposition; b) objec­
tively, a proposition that cannot be doubted by
reason of the evident connection of its subject with
its predicate. Ant: uncertainty, doubt, perplexity;
Syn: surety, assurance, positiveness.
CERTITUDE metaphysical, is that type of certi­
tude which derives its motive from what is essential
in things, as first principles, immediate or intuitive
truths.
CERTITUDE moral, a firm adherence to truths
that are concerned with the words and deeds of
moral agents; it is grounded upon the moral law;
hence admits of a few exceptions.
CERTITUDE objective, denotes the necessity by
which a thing is what it is, whether we are aware
of this necessity or not.
CERTITUDE physical, a firm adherence to truths
that concern existence and interactions within the
physical order. It is derived either from the im­
mediate evidence of sense perception or the mediate
evidence of inference and induction. ,
CHANCE (L. cadere, to fall), an effect inasfar as
it is produced without the intention of the agent; an
unforeseen event, undesigned occurrence, contingent
happening.
CHANGE (L. cambire, to barter), a transition or
passage from one mode or condition of being (poten­
cy) to another (act); alteration, variation, trans­
formation, modification.
CHANGE accidental, one that does not involve
any mutation of the substantial nature in which the
accidents are found, e. g., change of color, of health.
CHANGE local, a transition from one place to an­
other.

10

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

CHANGE qualitative, the transition, in a sub­
stance, of one accidental quality to another, e. g.,
hot to cold.
CHANGE quantitative, the increase or decrease of
quantity in a given substance.
CHANGE substantial, a change inasfar as it in­
volves a transformation of one substance into an­
other. (Also called essential change)
CHARACTER, in Ethics, is the sum of those in­
tellectual and moral virtues which enable a man to
conduct his life habitually according to definite
moral principles.
CHARACTERISTIC (Gr. karakter, stamp), the
distinctive, typical, essential; significant and ex­
pressive which is treated by modern art as opposed
to the beautiful in a narrow sense. ·. ·
CHARITY (L. caritas, dearness, love), is that
virtue which prompts a man to love his neighbor
(natural) as himself for the love of God (super­
natural). Syn: love, affection, generosity, friend­
ship, benevolence; Ant. hatred, selfishness.
CHARMING, the beautiful on a small scale; the
attractive, thé fascinating, the pretty.
CHEMISTRY (See alchemyé, that branch of phy­
sical science which deals with the composition and
the transformation of matter.
CIRCUMSTANCE (L. circum, around, near, and
stare, to stand), in Ethics, means that quality of a
human act deriving from its author or the time or
place of its performance or the object with which it
is concerned or the manner in which it is done, which
accidentally modifies its moral character. It is one
of the determinants of morality. In a general sense,
it is an accompanying condition, occurrence or event.
CIVILIZATION (L. civis, citizen), effectively or­
ganized social life, implying successful government,

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Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

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a certain development of the arts and sciences, and
at least that degree of culture which elevates such
life above the savage state.
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CLASSIFICATION (L. classis, class), a grouping
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together of individuals or objects according to their
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natural species or according to some artificial atI
tribute which is distinct and common to the whole
Vclass. Ant: disorder, confusion; syn: arrangement,
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order.
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COGNITION (L. cognitio, knowledge), the process
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of knowing or apprehending; a term which includes
all forms of mental life except the appetitive states
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and processes.
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COMMUNISM (L. commune, common), is the ecoi
nomic and social theory which, denying the justice
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of holding private property, maintains that all propj
erty should be owned and administered by the combmunity as a whole.
COMPENETRATION (L. cum, with, and penitus,
interior), the passage of one body through another.
>
COMPOSITION (L. componere, to put together),
i .
a fallacy due to shifting a term from distributive
to a -collective application, the term being used first
in a divided sense, and later in a composite sense.
CONCEPT (L. con, with, and capere, take) is the
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abstract universal idea; the intellectual representaItion of an object; a thought, a simple apprehension.

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CONCEPTION, either the act of the mind con­
ceiving an idea, or the idea or concept itself.
CONCEPTUALISM, the theory which solved the
mediaeval problem of universals by regarding the
latter as existing solely in the mind. Such was the
subjectivism of Abelard, Berkeley and Kant. It is
the epistemological theory that the necessary ele­
ments in our knowledge are congenital to the mind,
hence that the universal idea is not derived from

12

.Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

experience, but is an a priori mental form. Ant:
realism; syn: Kantianism, formalism, subjectivism.

CONCRETE (L. con, with, and crescere, grow to­
gether) , the sensible, particular or factual ; the
tangible, visible or audible; the empirical.
CONCURRENCE (L. con, with, and currere, to
run), the act of cooperating; the action of one cause
added to the action of another cause, in the produc­
tion of some effect.
CONCURRENCE divine, the necessary coopera­
tion of the First Cause with a secondary cause
(creature) in the production of an effect.
CONDITION (L. con, with, and dicere, agree),
that which must be realized before an effect can be
produced.
CONGRUIT Y (L. congruere, to agree), harmony,
concord, balance, proportion rhythm, symmetry ; an
essential factor in the beautiful.
CONNOTATION (L. con, with, and nota, mark),
of a term, the attributes or the characteristics by
virtue of which the term is applied to certain objects
or individuals. Syn : implication.
CONSCIENCE (L. con, with, and scire, to know)
in Ethics is a practical judgment by which a moral
agent knows here and now the good that is to be
done and the evil that is to be avoided.
CONSCIENCE in Psychology, is that mental
power by which we are aware of our internal states
and dispositions.
CONSCIENCE certain, when no fear of error
accompanies the judgment.
CONSCIENCE doubtful, when judgment is sus­
pended for fear of error.
CONSCIENCE probable, when based on such
slight evidence as not to exclude all fear of error.

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CONSCIENCE erroneous, when based on error;
a) vincible, if the error can be easily overcome; b) .
invincible, if otherwise.
,
CONSCIENCE lax, when based on insufficient
motives.
CONSERVATION, of energy, the law in physical
' science· which states that the sum-total of energy in
the universe is constant; that energy may be trans­
formed, but cannot be destroyed.
CONTINGENT (L. con and tangere, touch to­
gether), uncertain, non-necessary, non-essential; a
being which exists, but which may not exist. Ant:·
the necessary, absolute.
CONTINUUM (L. con, and tenere, hold together),
a system of unbroken sequence; a material substance whose parts are not actually, but only potentially, distinct from one another.
CONTRACT (L. con and trahere, draw together)
in Ethics, is a free agreement between two (or
more) persons whereby one or both assume an obli­
gation in justice to do or not to do something.
CONTRACT express, if the agreement is made in
words or writing. - ;
CONTRACT tacit, if the agreement is implicit
only. .
CONTRACT gratuitous, if only one part benefits
by it.
CONTRACT onerous, if both parties assume an
obligation and benefit by it.
CONTRADICTORIES (L. contradicere, to speak
against), two terms, one of which is said to be the
simple negative of the other. In order that this be
so, two conditions must be fulfilled: a) neither can
apply to any object denoted by the other; and b)
both together must embrace all of the objects in the
universe.

14

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

CONTRAPOSITION (L. contra, and ponere, place
against) is a process of eduction in which the mind
after obverting a given proposition perceives a con­
verse relation between the new subject and predicate,
and expresses this knowledge in a proposition whose
subject is the contradictory of the given predicate.
- CONTRARIES (L. contra, opposed), two terms
are opposed as contraries when a) neither may
apply to an object within a certain universe, while
b) both cannot apply to it at the same time, e. g.
just and unjust.

CONVERSION (L. convertere, to turn about) is
a process, of eduction in which the mind seeing
that the perceived relation of a given judgment will
support an interchange of terms, expresses the new
truth in a proposition whose subject is the given
predicate and whose predicate is the given subject.
CONVICTION (L. con, with, and vincere, to con­
quer), certitude; flrm assent of the mind without
fear of error or shadow of doubt; a state wherein
the mind is sure and positive.
COPULA (L. co, together, and alere, fasten), a
symbol of the relation between two terms (is or is
not, are or are not).
CORELATIVES (L. com, and relaturus, related
with). Terms are said to be correlatives when each
indicates one of two things or attributes in such a
way as to call attention to a characteristic which
links the two things or attributes together, as hus­
band and wife, day and night. Ant: absolute; syn:
reciprocal.
CORPOREAL (L. corpus, body), material, inor­
ganic, extended substance. Ant: spiritual.
COSMOGONY (Gr. cosmos, world, and gonos,
birth), the science of the origin or formation of the

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

15

COSMOLOGY (Gr. cosmos, -world, and logos,
science), the branch of philosophy which deals with
the ultimate causes of the material universe.

COSMOS (ut supra), the world or universe.
CRAFT, that human transitive activity which
aims at utility rather than beauty; mechanical art.
CREATION (L. creare, to create) is the produc­
tion of something entirely out of nothing; the pro­
duction instantaneously of the totality of a being;
the passage from ideal possibility to actuality; the
act of God’s free will by which beings distinct from
Him are produced without any pre-supposed ma­
terial.
CREATIONISM, the theory that the world orig­
inated by the creative act of a personal God distinct
from it. Ant: pantheism, materialistic monism.

CREATIVE, original as opposed to imitative or
critical.
CREATIVE evolution, the theory of Henri Berg­
son that the fundamental reality is process, push
and active life (élan vital).
CREATURE, being inasfar as it has been or may
be produced by God.
CRIME (L. crimen, fault,· accusation) is an act
or omission whereby serious moral wrong is done.
Syn : felony, outrage, atrocity, sin.

CRITERIOLOGY (see criterion) is a branch of
philosophy which seeks to establish the criteria or
norms of truth; to establish the truth value of
knowledge; theory of knowledge; material logic.
CRITERION (Gk. kntas, judge), a motive of as­
sent; a reason of acceptance; a character or quality
of objects which elicits certitude in subject; a stand­
ard; a test; a rule or principle.

16

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

CRITICISM (Gk. krino, judge), appreciation; ju­
dicious appraisal; the application of aesthetic stand­
ards in judging a work of art.
CRITICS (As above), see criteriology.

CULTURE (L. colere, till or cultivate), the spiri­
tual part of civilization; the refinement or perfec­
tion of a person, or a natural power; the result of a
liberal education, i. e., scholarship plus refinement
or polish.

DARWINISM, the theory of Charles Darwin that
organic evolution took place by natural selection as
a result of the survival of the fittest in the struggle
for existence.
DEDUCTION (L. de, from; ducere, lead), a proc­
ess of reasoning from the general to the particular;
a priori reasoning. Ant: Induction, a posteriori
reasoning. ·
DEFINITION (L. de, from and finis, setting the
limits), a brief, clear and accurate statement of the
nature of an object. Syn: meaning, explanation,
statement of the intension, unfolding the essence,
statement of the essential attributes or properties of
a class, analysis of the comprehension of a term.

DEISM (L. deus, god), a theodicy which denies
divine providence; a philosophical system which ad­
mits a personal God, the author of nature, but denies
that He concerns Himself with what transpires on
earth.
DEMERIT (L. de, and merere, to deserve), is the
obligation of undergoing punishment by reason of
an action injurious to another. Ant: merit, desert;
syn: delinquency, mis-conduct.
DENOTATION, see intension.
DESIGN (L. Designare), plan; scheme; purpose.

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Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

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DEVOLUTION (L. de, from, and volvere, to roll),
retrogressive change.
DIALLELUS (Gr. ' dia, between, and allasso,
change), an objection of the skeptics that we use the
mental faculties to prove their own validity; argu­
ment in a circle.
DICHOTOMY (Gr. dichatomos, cut in two), is the
separation of a genus into a pair of species, one of
which is named by a positive term, the other by its
contradictory. Syn: division by contradictories,
(See contradictory terms).
DIFFERENCE, specific (L. differre, to set or
carry apart), that part of the essence which distinguishes the species from other classes, and which
belongs to no other subject. It divides a genus and
constitutes a species, and coalesces with the genus
to form the essence; e. g., rational is the specific
difference of man, and animal is the genus.
DILEMMA (L. dilemma, two assumptions taken
for granted), is a syllogism which has for its major
premise a compound hypothetical and for its minor
a disjunctive proposition.
DISPOSITION (L. dispono, to arrange), is a
transient state or quality of mind by which an agent
is rendered well or ill disposed to ' do or to avoid
doing certain things.
DISTINCTION (L. distinguere), lack of identity
between two things or ideas. Ant: identity; syn:
difference.
DISTINCTION logical, the absence of identity
between two ideas in thought content; a distinction
which cannot exist except in the mind. Ant: real
distinction; syn: mental or conceptual distinction.
DISTINCTION real, absence of identity between
two things; a distinction which can exist independ­
ently of the mind. Ant: logical distinction.

18

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

DIVISION (L. dividere, to put asunder, to part),
the separation of a whole (physical, logical, or meta­
physical) into its constituent parts.
DIVISION logical, the analysis of a genus into
the species that compose it; the analysis of the ex­
tension of a term based upon either a natural or
artificial determining principle.
DIVISION metaphysical, a division which gives
the structural components of such abstract terms as
may be reduced to a species, a substance, or an ac­
cident, as man into animality and rationality.
DIVISION phyiscal, the breaking up of a com­
posite concrete thing into its several parts:
DIVORCE (L. divortere, to separate) is the judi­
cial act whereby the bonds of matrimony are per­
manently dissolved. Ant: marital indissolubility.
DOCTRINE (L. doctrina, from docere, teach),
opinion, .theory, dogma, teaching, creed, tenet.
DOGMA (Gk. dogma, from dokein, seem), knowl­
edge acquired by comparison of ideas as opposed to
fact, principle, law, formula, declaration of opinion;
indisputable truth.
DOMINION (L. dominium, lordship, mastery), is
the perfect form of property right; hence the right
to dispose of a thing as one’s own inasmuch as the
nature of right permits. Syn: property right, own­
ership, mastery.
DOUBT (L. dubium, uncertain, probable. From
duo, two, expresses the position between two points),
is a state of mind in which, from fear of falling into
error, we refuse to make any judgment whatever
concerning the truth of contradictory propositions.
Ant: certainty, certitude; syn: uncertainty, unde­
cidedness, perplexity, bewilderment.
DOUBT negative, a state of mind which is neu­
tral, due to the lack of sufficient evidence or valid

___
Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

*

■ '>

19

reasons; a balanced state which is due to ignorance
but is not sheer ignorance.
DOUBT positive, a state of mind in which we re­
fuse to make a judgment due to the presence of
counterbalancing reasons.
DUTY, is the moral obligation arising from law to
do or not to do what the law prescribes. Syn: obli­
gation, responsibility, homage.
DYNAMISM (Gk. dunamis, force), the theory of
Leibnitz that bodies are made up of forces (monads).

EDUCTION (L. educere, to lead forth), immediate
inference in which the mind acquires a new truth in
virtue of seeing what is implied when a given prop­
osition undergoes a change of subject or predicate
or both, e. g., conversion, obversion. Syn: to evolve,
elicit, to draw forth. (See immediate inference).
EGO (L. ego, I, a person, self or subject, including
body and mind).
EGOISM (L. ego, self), in ethics is the principle
that the good of self, one’s own pleasure or advan­
tage, is the supreme rule of conduct. Also, the
practise of putting self-interest ahead of all other
interests. Ant: altruism; syn: Hedonism.
ELAN VITAL (F. élan, impulse and vital, vital),
Bergson’s name for the cosmic urge or impetus.
ELECTRICITY (Gk. electron, amber), the funda­
mental form of energy.
ELECTRON (as above), ultimate particle or cor­
puscle of negative electricity; part of an atom.
ELEMENT (L. elementum, etym. dub.), compo­
nent part; in chemistry, a substance that defies
analysis; one of the ninety fundamental kinds of
matter.
EMERGENT EVOLUTION (L. e, out of, and
mergere, dip), Lloyd Morgan’s theory that the highei·

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20

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

stages of existence are epigenetic, i. e., having no
explanation in terms of their antecedents.
EMPATHY (Gk. pasko, suffer), that element of
aesthetics in which one feels himself into the object
of contemplation by bringing the wealth of his as­
sociations to bear upon the object and cooperate
with it.
EMPIRICAL (Gk. peira, trial), based on observa­
tion and experiment, i. e., trial and error.
EMPIRICISM (Gk. En, in, and peira, trial), is
the epistemological theory that all cértain knowledge
is limited to sense experience. The application of
the methods of physical science to philosophy. The
contention that what cannot be measured cannot be
known. Ant: intellectualism, moderate realism, inteuitionism; syn: positivism, sensism, materialism.
END, in Ethics, is the purpose or motive the rea­
son for an action. It is the good, i. e., the reality
on account of which the moral agent acts. Syn:
purpose, motive, object.
END, proximate, the immediate means used to
attain a further end.
END, intermediate, the end or ends which in a
subordinated series lead from the proximate to the
ultimate end.
END ultimate, that good which terminates a.series
of actions, or which is desired exclusively for its
own sake.
ENERGY (Gk. ergon, work), in physics, is the
power of a material agent to do work, to affect
another body. In psychology, the capacity of a
living organism to perform vital actions, to gain the
ends proper to its nature. Ant: lethargy; syn: force,
power, strength.
ENTHYMEME (Gk. enthymema, to keep in mind,
consider), a syllogism in which one of the constituent

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

21

propositions has been dropped. When the major,
minor or conclusion is omitted it is referred to as
an enthymeme of the first, second or third order
respectively.
ENTROPY (Gk. trope, transformation), a measure of the unavailability of a system’s thermal
energy for conversion into mechanical work.
EPICHEIREMA (Gk. epicheirema, to attempt to
prove), a condensed syllogism of the regressive type
in which the episyllogism is conjoined with a proof
of one or both of its premises.
EPISTEMOLOGY (Gk. episteme, knowledge;
logos, science), . that branch of philosophy which
deals with the nature, conditions, limits and validity
of knowledge. Material logic. Criteriology. Theory
of knowledge.
EPISYLLOGISM (Gk. epi, and sullogismos, a
reasoning upon), one which takes for a premise the
conclusion of another argument called the prosyl­
logism.

EQUIVOCATION (L. aequus, equal, and vox,
voice; identity of verbal expression), is a fallacy which consists not in employing a term which is
capable of two or more meanings, but ·ΐη actually
applying it to different things as if they were the
same; e. g., Law, used in the legal sense is not the
same as the moral law.

ERROR (L. errare, to judge wrongly), is a de­
flection of the mind from the proper direction in its
search for truth. It is the lack of conformity be­
tween a judgment and its object; a defective judg­
ment, a partial truth. Ant: truth, certitude; syn:
mistake, fallacy, misunderstanding, misconception,,
blunder.
ESSENCE (L. essentia), is that which makes a
thing to be what it is; that which answers the ques­

Î

22

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

tion, what is a thing? Syn: nature, species, sub­
stance.
ESSENCE abstract, essence as conceived by and
existing only in the mind. Ant: concrete.
ESSENCE concrete, a complete reality in the
physical and concrete order. Ant: abstract.
ESSENCE individual,, an essence inasfar as it is
affected by individuating notes, on account of which
it is not predicable of more than one individual.
Ant: universal.
ESSENCE real, one that has actual existence
independently of the human mind. Ant: ideal,
possible.
ESSENCE specific, that portion of the nature of
a thing supplied by the substantial form.
ESTHETIC (see Aesthetic).
ETERNITY (L. aeternitas, unending duration),
the simultaneous, complete and perfect possession of
life without beginning or end (Boethius). Ant:
time.
ETHER (Gk. aitho, burn), a hypothetical wave;
a transmitting medium that is omnipresent through
space and fills the interstices between particles of
matter.
·
ETHICS (Gk. ethos), is the philosophical science
of the moral rightness and wrongness of human
acts. It is the art of right conduct. Syn: moral
philosophy, morals.
EVENT (L. eventus, from venire, to come), hap­
pening; fact; occurrence; phenomena; incident; unit
in the four-dimensional or space-time system.
EVIDENCE (L. e, from, and videre, to see), that
quality of a proposition by reason of which the
relation of subject to predicate is unmistakably and
immediately known to the mind. Such a clear pre­
sentation of a fact or a proposition as to make it

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

23

undeniable. Ant: vagueness, ambiguity, obscurity;
syn: perspicacity, clearness, doubtless, transparent.
EVIDENCE immediate, a proposition is imme­
diately evident when its terms cannot be thought to
have any other relation than the one expressed.
Truth seen directly through intellectual intuition,
or perceptual intuition (concrete facts of sense
experience). Syn: self-evidence, intuition.
EVIDENCE mediate, evidence which denotes the
reasons which support a truth. A proposition is mediately evident not only when it is a conclusion
validly drawn from statements which are ultimately
self-evident, but also when it is a generalization
properly made from a knowledge of particular facts.

EVIL is the privation of reality; it is privative
or negative being. Ant: good, reality, actuality,
being; syn: privation, negation, non-being.
EVIL physical, the lack of that integrity which
is due to the nature of a physical thing, as blindness,
ill-health.
EVIL moral, that lack of perfection in a human
act by reason of which it fails to conform to the
moral law. Syn : sin, fault* imperfection.
EVOLUTION (L. e, from, and volvere, to unroll,
unfold), the progressive development of the higher
or complex from the lower or simple; transformism;
theory of the origin of species by descent.
EXECUTION (L. exsecutare, from sequi, fol­
low), expression; technique; crystalization of the
conception; external embodiment or externalization
of the ideal; rendering; production.
EXEMPLAR (L. exemplum), model, pattern,
paradigm, prototype, divine idea or “universale ante
rem.”
'EXEMPLARISM (L. exemplum, model, type), is ■
the teaching that in the mind of the Creator there

24

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy ·

exist archetypal ideas in imitation of which each
thing respectively was created. Exemplarism is a
necessary corollary of the belief in creation by an
intelligent and personal God.
EXISTENCE (L. ex, out of, and sistere, stand),
that by which a thing is. Every essence has some
kind of existence, either actual or potential, real or
logical. Existence is that which is over and above
the essence of a thing.
EXPECTATION (L. expectare, to look for), an
influence involved in purpose and acting as either a
help or a.hinderance in observation, according as it
results from sound thinking or feeling.
EXPERIENCE (L. experiri, to go through), per­
ceptual knowledge; sense awareness.
EXPERIMENT (L. experiri, to try), an inten­
tional change brought to bear upon the rise and
progress of a process under consideration, and con­
sequently under the control of perception and the
guidance of an hypothesis. The functions of experi­
ment as an aid to induction are: (a) analyzing
experience to ascertain the fact (cause and effect)
to.be explained; (c) study of the nature of the
effect in order to limit the number of hypotheses;
and (c) verification of a particular hypothesis.
EXTENSION (L. extendere, stretch), in meta­
physics, a quantitative term designating volume. In
Logic, it means the number of individuals of which
an idea or perfection fnay be predicated.
EXTERNAL reality, any being which exists apart
from the ego or person; or which exists independ­
ently of the mind. Ant: the self, ideal reality.

FACT (L. factum, from facere, to do), datum of
experience, phenomenon, event.
FAITH (L. .fides) is the assent given by the mind
to a proposition solely on account of the authority

I

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

I
;

of a witness; natural, when grounded on human
authority; supernatural, when based on the truths
of Divine Revelation. Ant: incredulity, unbelief;
syn: belief.
FALLACY (L. fallere, to deceive), a violation of
the rules of the syllogism is technically called a
fallacy. Syn: false reasoning, sophism, misleading
argument.
FALLACY extra dictionem, a fallacy which originates in an assumption which is not warranted by
the language employed. These assumptions may
amount to qualifications that need to be supplied, or
confusion of concrete, abstract or specific terms
which give rise to fallacies of simple converse and
specific accident. See material fallacy.
FALLACY formal, a fallacy due to a violation of
the rules of the syllogism.
FALLACY in diction, the heading under which
Aristotle classified fallacies which have their source
in the language employed.
FALLACY material, a fallacy, due to the lan­
guage in which an argument is expressed, or the
meaning of the terms employed. Material fallacies
include Fallacies in diction, extra dictionem.
FALLACY of accent, false reasoning due to a
change of meaning brought about by (a) stressing
one syllable rather than another syllable of a word,
or (b) by emphasizing one rather than another word
of a sentence. ’
FALLACY of accident, reasoning based on the
Taise assumption that “What is predicable of a sub­
ject is predicable of its accidents,” or “What is
predicable of an accident of a term is predicable of
another accident of the same term.”
FALLACY of begging the question, offering the
conclusion or the point at issue as a reason for it-

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26

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

self by making use of synonyms or phrases which
imply each other, e. g., giving lack of mentality as
the reason for insanity.

FALLACY of false cause, (A) drawing absurd,
ridiculous, or far-fetched conclusions from accept­
able premises. (B) A name used as a variant of
the inductive fallacy, Post hoc, ergo propter hoc,
to indicate the fallacy of supposing that the ante­
cedent of an event is always, instead of merely
sometimes, its cause. Assuming that a phenome­
non is causally related to another because it follows
closely upon it, is a frequent source of this error.
FALLACY of many questions. This fallacy occurs
when two or more questions are conveyed by means
of a single question, so constructed that it cannot
be given an unqualified answer without sacrificing
an important truth. The many questions (A) may
be all formally expressed in a single question or
(B) only one may be expressed, the other (or
others) being implied.

FALLACY secundum quid, a phrase out of the
Latin description “Fallacia a dicto simpliciter ad
dictum secundum quid” meaning “in a qualified
sense.”. The fallacy assumes the right to reason
from one predication to another even when the one
is true absolutely while the other is true only con­
ditionally.
FALSEHOOD (L. fallere, to deceive), that which
is necessarily opposed to truth. Ant: truth. See,
error and Logical truth.

FIDEISM (L. fides), a theory held by a Scotch
school and Kant, according to which the criterion of
truth is a blind instinct or impulse to believe, e. g.,
an internal subjective sentiment or sense. Ant: in­
tellectualism.

, .

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Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

27

FIGURE (of syllogism), the figure of a syllogism
is a characteristic imparted to its form by the arrangement of its terms and is determined by the
position of the middle term in the premises.
FINAL cause (See end)
FINE ARTS, a collective term including poetry,
music, painting, architecture, sculpture, and all
which aims at beauty rather than at utility (see
craft)
FORCE (L. fortis, strong), pull, attraction, in­
fluence, cause of motion, active agency, source of
change.
FORE KNOWLEDGE, knowledge of events had
previously to their actual occurrence. Syn: fore­
sight.
FORM (of propositions), the form of a proposi( tion is its determining element, the copula. The
affirmative (is) and the negative (is not) copulas
tell us how the terms of a proposition stand toward
each other and are, therefore, called the form of
propositions. Another use of the word “form”
makes it apply not only to the affirmative or nega­
tive character of a proposition but also to the exten­
sion of the subject. (See matter, of propositions.)
, The reality which gives the proposition its proper
nature. ‘ See Form (Metaphysics).
FORM (L. forma, outline), the sensible medium
in which the matter or idea of an art object is expressed.
FORM (in metaphysics), the accident or quality
of shape, outline or figure; the substantial principle
which specifies and determines a thing and serves
as a principle of activity.
FORTITUDE (L. fortitudo, strength), is that
cardinal moral virtue which prompts and enables
one to undertake and to brave dangerous and dif-

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_ Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

ficult things for the sake of keeping the moral law.
Ant: cowardice, timidity, lukewarmness; syn: cour­
age, bravery.
·

FOURTH dimension (L. mensus, measure), the
name given to time in non-Euclidian fourfold
geometry.

FREEDOM (of will) is that attribute of man’s
will by reason of which it may act or not act, act
in this way or that. It is the will’s inherent power
of self-determination, the power of choice. Ant:
determinism; syn: liberty.
FREEDOM political, immunity from tyranny, the
liberty of exercising one’s reason in such a way as
to be able to attain the legitimate ends of social
living.
GENETIC, definition, (Gk. genesis, root), is one
which describes the processes by which an individual
of a type can be produced, e. g., describing a figure
by indicating the way it may be constructed; also
definitions in chemistry.

GENIUS (L. gignere, beget), superlative capacity
of mind; exceptional ability; extraordinary talent or
faculty; special creative endowment.
GENUS (L. genus, kind, class), that part of an
essence which belongs to other species also. A
larger class under which there are smaller groups
called species. Man belongs to the genus animal.
GLORY, is “the clear perception of a person or
thing joined with praise of his or its excellence”
(St. Ambrose). Ant: ignominy; syn: fame, honor,
renown, excellence.
GOD (Ger. gott), the supreme being, Creator of
all -things, the First Cause, Himself uncaused, the
most perfect of all beings.

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Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy
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GOOD (Ger. gut), anything desirable. Whatever
can be the object of appetite. Whatever can perfect
an individual.
GOOD, The, the abstractive notion of that which
can form the object of the appetite, independently of
whether it exists in an individual or not. Ant: the
θνϊΐ.
GOOD apparent, whatever appears to an individual as desirable, whether it is really so or not. Ant:
real good; syn: seeming good.
GOOD delectable, the tranquillity of the appetite
in the possession.of some good.
GOOD honest, that which is desired for itself, and
not as a means for procuring something else.
GOOD moral, any object inasfar as it perfects the
intellectual appetite. The conformity of human acts
with the law as manifested through conscience. Ant:
moral evil.
GOOD physical, any object inasfar as it perfects
the natural appetite. Having all the physical per­
fection that is due to any nature.
GOOD real, that which is really, and not just
apparently perfective of any appetite.
• GOOD useful, that which is desired not for itself,
but as a means of procuring something else.
GRACEFUL (L. gratus, pleasing), the beautiful
in motion.
GRADES, metaphysical, of being. Different
formalities by which some common nature is con­
ceived as gradually contracted to an individual
being, created being, created corporeal being, created
corporeal living being, created corporeal living sen­
sitive being, etc.
GRAVITATION (L. gravis, heavy), the attrac­
tion which exists between all material bodies; the
force or pull exercised by the earth upon bodies.

30

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

GROTESQUE (Ital. grotto, excavated chamber),
fantastic, bizarre, distorted, absurd, incongruous,
excentric, barbaric, e. g., gargoyles, masks; laugh­
ing galleries. The grotesque is one of the aesthetic
categories.
HABIT, is a quality not easily changed which
affects favorably or unfavorably either a thing or
its powers of operation.
HABIT operative, which affects the powers of
operation.
HABIT entitive, which affects the substance of
the agent.
HABIT (as a category in metaphysics), is the
accident resulting in a body from being clothed,
decorated, etc.
HAPPINESS, is the state of being contented,
satisfied, blissful. Ant: unhappiness, misery; syn:
joy, bliss.
HAPPINESS subjective, as above.
HAPPINESS objective, that good, or those goods,
by reason of which desire is satisfied
HAPPINESS perfect, the perfect, peaceful and
permanent possession of the highest good.
HAPPINESS imperfect, those installments of
satisfaction which result from the possession of
temporal goods.
HARMONY (L. harmonia), agreement, concord
(see congruity).
HEREDITY (L. heres, heir), tendency of like to
beget like, i. e., offspring to resemble parents.
HOMICIDE (L. homo, man, and caedere, to kill),
is the taking of human life. Justifiable, if by public
authority for a just cause or by. an individual in
legitimate self-defense. Unjustifiable, if by an in-

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dividual on his own private initiative, in which case
it is called murder.

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HORRIBLE (L. horrere, shudder), excessively
ugly, hideous, incongruous to a superlative degree.
HUMAN act, one that is the result of deliberation
. and foreknowledge of end. Ant : spontaneous, reflex,
· necessary act; syn: moral, intelligent, free act.
HYLEMORPHISM (Gk. ule, matter, plus morphe,
form), theory of Aristotle that bodies are composed
of prime matter and substantial form.
HYPOTHESIS (Gk. hypothesis, foundation, sup­
position), is a tentative law for the purpose of
explaining phenomena which the mind recognizes as
cause or effect. Syn: supposition, theory.

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HYPOTHESIS of cause, one which discloses the
nature of the agencies involved and gives us knowledge of the origin of the phenomena, e. g., the
knowledge not only of the connection between the
symptoms of certain ailments and the lesions of
specific organs (which is an hypothesis of law), but
knowledge of what brought about the lesions, namely
the supposition of organisms working together
breaking down tissue.
HYPOTHESIS of law (Gk. hypothesis, supposi­
tion), is one which connects by supposition one
phenomenon with another so as to bring out the
manner and degree in which they are related with­
out disclosing the nature of the agencies involved,
e. g., Newton’s theory of gravitation.
IDEA (Gk. idea) see concépt.
IDEALISM (Gk. idea, form or kind), the theory
that reduces objective reality to subjective mental­
ity; subjectivism; absolutism; an epistemological
doctrine which claims that our knowledge is limited
to innate a priori mental forms; theory that reality

32

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

is mental. Ant:
subjectivism.

realism, syn: pan-mentalism,

IDEALIZATION (Gk. idea),-see conception.
IDENTITY, sameness, the agreement of a thing
with itself. Ant: distinction; syn: sameness.

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IDENTITY principle of (L. idem, the same), a
thing is what it is and not anything else, e. g., A
is A. N. B. This principle is to be well distinguished
from the principle of equality: the principle of
equality asserts that two things equal to a third are
equal to each other, not that they are the same
thing. Whereas the principle of identity asserts,
not that two things are the same thing, but that two
ideas are verified of the same thing, v. g., two pints
of milk are equal to one quart of milk; four halfpints are equal to one quarter; and therefore two
pints are equal to four half-pints. But we do not
assert that four half-pints are the same milk that
two pints are. The principle of identity, however,
asserts the identity of-the thing: thus my idea of
“first cause” is the same thing that is represented
by my idea of “most perfect being.”
IGNORANCE (L. ignorare, not to know), is the
knowledge in a being capable of having it.
IGNORANCE antecedent, which precedes the act
and is the reason for its being done.
IGNORANCE concomitant, which accompanies the
act, but without casual influence.
IGNORANCE consequent, which is directly or in­
directly willed, i. e., vincible ignorance.
IMAGE (sense), is a concrete mental representa­
tion of a-material object perceived by one of the
senses. Syn: phantasm.
IMAGINATION (L. imago, likeness), the mental
power of forming images or representations of what
is absent; the artistic or aesthetic faculty; the power

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

33

of creation, interpretation, imitation and pretence.
Syn : fancy.
IMITATION (L. imitari), representation, repro­
duction, copying, mimicry.
IMMENSITY (L. immensitas), the divine at­
tribute of being in all things, without being limited
by any of them.
IMMUTABILITY (L. immutabilitas), the in­
ability to change or be changed.
IMPERFECT (L. im, per, factum, not wholly
made), lacking some perfection ; having .some limita­
tions; expressing potency. Ant: perfect; syn: limi­
tation, potency.
IMPERFECTION, is the lack of actuality or in­
tegrity due a thing. Ant: perfection, completeness,
integrity; syn: potentiality.

IMPLICATION (L. implicare, to involve, to fold
in), of a term means its intension, its meaning, or its
content; the characteristics represented and ex­
pressed by the term. Syn: intension, comprehension,
depth. See connotation.
IMPOSSIBILITY, moral, (1) that which cannot
be done without involving great effort and grave
difficulty; (2) that which is contrary to the laws by
which human conduct is normally regulated. Ant:
moral possibility; syn: very difficult; extremely im­
probable.
IMPOSSIBILITY physical, that which, although
it involves in itself no contradiction and could hap­
pen, is beyond the power of natural forces. That,
to overcome which, requires a miracle. Ant: physical
possibility; syn: natural impossibility.
IMPRESSION (L. imprimere), see conception.
IMPROBABILITY (L. im, not, and probare,
proved), the insufficiency of motives necessary for a

34

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

prudent assent of the mind to any proposition. Ant:
probability, likelihood; syn: unlikelihood.
INDEFINITE (L. in, not, and definitum, limited),
reality considered as abstracted from all limitations.
It may be that something indefinite has limits, but
they are either unknown or not considered. Ant:
definite; syn: indeterminate.
INDETERMINATE, considered as having no ter­
mination, or limits. Something undefined. Ant:
determinate; syn: unlimited.

INDIVIDUAL (L. individuum), a concrete nature
or essence as affected by certain perfections which
make that nature or essence unpredicable of an­
other, e. g., the concrete essnce of “man” as affected
by some reality which makes it this man and no
other. Ant: universal; syn: particular.
INDIVIDUATION, principle of, that reality which,
when added to a concrete essence is sufficient to in­
dividuate it, i. e., make it this essence.

INDUCTION (L. in and ducere, to lead), the
process of reasoning from the particular to the gen­
eral; a posteriori reasoning. *
INFALLIBILITY (L. in, and fallere, to deceive),
the incapability of deceiving or being deceived. A
statement made by an infallible authority must be
accepted as true. Ant: doubtful, erroneous; syn:
unerring, inerrant.
INFERENCE (L. inferre, to bring on, into), the
passing from a known truth to a truth which is im­
plied in it is called an act of inference.
INFERENCE immediate (L. im, and medium, not
through a middle or medium), a process of acquir­
ing truth without seeking fresh objective evidence,
either from sense experience or authority; it is a
rendering explicit what is implicit in a given
thought.

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy
INFERENCE Mediate (L. medium, middle), a
process which follows upon the mind’s perception
of the relation which three concepts show in two
judgments. Syn: reasoning, syllogistic reasoning.
INFINITY (L. in, not, and finis, end), without
limits; what cannot be measured. Ant: finiteness.
INHERENCE (L. in haerere, to adhere to), exist­
ence in another as a subject. Thus, color inheres
in a substance, v. g., table. Ant: subsistence.
INNATE IDEAS, (L. innatus from nasci, be
born), inborn; inherited or congenital concepts as
opposed to thoughts acquired from experience. Des­
cartes subscribed to the theory of Innate Ideas.
INSTINCT, is “a natural aptitude which guides
animals in the unreflecting performance of complex
acts useful for the preservation of the individual or
of the species.” (Maher, Psych. 587). Ant: intellect;
syn: sense.
INTELLECT (L. intus and legere, to read with­
in), is that immaterial cognitive faculty by which we
know the nature or essence of things; the highest
cognitive power in the human mind; the power of
conception, judgment, inference,
INTELLECT, Divine, the divine essence inasfar
as it is God’s knowledge of all things.
INTENTION (L. in and tendere, to incline to­
ward), is an inclination of the will toward an ob­
ject apprehended by the intellect as a good to be at­
tained. Syn: purpose, plan, aim, object.
INTENTION actual, if under the actual influence
of the will.
INTENTION virtual, if once initiated by the will
in a previous act and continues by reason of that
fact to influence the present action.
INTENTION habitual, if once initiated by the
will, as in hte virtual intention, but which no longer
exerts actual influence over the action.

36

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

INTEREST, is “a peculiar attraction exerted by
certain objects of consideration in virtue of associated pleasurable or painful experiences in the
past” (Maher, 1. c. 354). It is sympathetic attention or curiosity. Ant: indifference, vagary; syn:
attention, concern.
INTROSPECTION (L. intro, in, and spicere, look),
the process of self-consciousness or reflection.
INTUITION· (L. in, and tueri, look), immediate
apprehension; direct knowledge or insight. Ant:
discursive reasoning.
INVERSION (L. invertere, to turn), is a process
of eduction in which the mind beginning with either
obversion or conversion of a given proposition pursues an alternating succession of these inferences
until it arrives at a judgment whose subject is the
contradictory of the given subject.
ION (Gk. eimi, go, neut. part), a particle of gas
that is electrically charged.

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JUDGMENT (L. judicare, from jus, right, and
dicere, speak), an act of intellect whereby two con­
cepts are compared by way of affirmation or nega­
tion. (See assent and proposition).
JUDGMENT practical, when it has to do with
matters of conduct, of right and wrong.
JUDGMENT speculative, when it has to do with
purely academic matters or with problems not directly related to everyday life.
JUSTICE (L. ius, right, law) is that cardinal
moral virtue by which one is habitually inclined to
give to everyone that which is his due. Ant: in­
justice, iniquity, fraud; syn: fairness, honesty, uprightness.

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KNOWLEDGE, a fundamental form of consciousness wherein subject unites with the object through

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Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

37

a representation. Syn: perception, cognition, appre­
hension, awareness, science, experience, belief,
thought, intellection.

LANGUAGE (L. lingua, tongue, speech), the
means by which thought can be transmitted from
one mind to another.
LAW, is “a rational ordinance or dictate of reason
promulgated by the legitimate authority in a com­
munity for the common good” (St. Thomas).
LAW eternal, is “Divine wisdom directing in ad­
vance the actions and the movements of all that can
exist” (Monsabre). It is “the Divine reason or will
commanding that the natural order be preserved and
forbidding it to be disturbed” (St. Augustine).

LAW natural or moral, is “the participation of the
eternal law in rational creatures, the light, as it
were, of natural reason, by which we discern what
is good and what is evil” (St. Thomas).
LAW physical, the natural law inasmuch as it
applies to non-free agents.
LAW positive, a determination of the natural lawapplicable to the particular needs of a society or an
individual.
LIBERTY (L. libertas, freedom): (1) of will, is
that attribute of a rational being by reason of which,
when all the conditions requisite for a free act are
present, he may act or not act, act in this way or
that; (2) political, the freedom to choose suitable
means to rationally approved ends. Ant: determined,
coerced; tyranny.
LICENCE (L. licentia, permission), is that mis­
conception of true liberty which identifies it with
the removal of all inhibitions to personal thought
or conduct. Ant: law, liberty; syn: caprice, ir­
responsibility.

I

38

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

LIE, any communication, by word, sign or silence,
of thought that is contrary to what is in the mind
of the speaker. Ant: true, honest statement; syn:
falsehood, untruth, prevarication.
LIFE, is immanent activity, activity which has its
origin and its terminus within the agent; hence
living things are those which are capable of self­
movement. Ant: death.
LOGIC (Gk. logike, word, thought), the science of
laws that guide us in reasoning to truth. “The
Science of the Laws of Thought,” (Thompson).
“The Science and also the Art of Reasoning,”
(Whately).
LUDICROUS (L. ludere, play), ridiculous, funny,
amusing, laughable, comic, humorous, the slightly
incongruous.

MASS (L. massa, quantitive matter, weight)
MATERIALISM (L. materia, matter), is the phil­
osophical theory which holds that all reality is re­
ducible to matter and energy. It excludes belief in
God, a spiritual soul, freedom and immortality. Ant:
spiritualism, idealism, dualism; syn: naturalism,
scientific monism, atheism.
MATHEMATICS (Gk. mathemâ, science), the
science of quantity in the abstract. It includes
arithmetic, alegebra, geometry, trigonometry, and
calculus.
MARRIAGE (F. marier) ; (1) As an act or pro­
cess, is “a legitimate contract between a man and a
woman by which each confers upon the other certain
rights in order to the generation of children”, · (2)
As a state, is the permanent society resulting from
this contract.
MARRIAGE companionate, is the arbitrary, illi­
cit, and transitory union of a man and woman living
the life of married people, without any of the rights

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

39

of the married state and without the will to accept
its duties.
MARRIAGE impediment to, is an obstacle to
marital union arising either from natural or posi­
tive law which renders the marriage contract either
illicit or invalid.
MARRIAGE indissolubility of, is that property
or attribute of the marriage contract (inasmuch as
it is identified with the Sacrament of matrimony)
which renders the bonds of matrimony unbreakable
except by the death of one of the parties to the
contract.
MARRIAGE unity of, is that property of the
marital contract which forbids a man to have simul­
taneously more than one wife, or a woman more than
one husband. It excludes both polyandry and
polygamy.
MATTER (L. materia), the stuff of which bodies
are made; that which has weight and occupies space;
corporeal substance; objective reality; physical na­
ture.
MATTER (in aesthetics), the idea, subject or
content of a work of art as opposed to the form.
MATTER prime, according to Aristotle, one of
the two ultimate principles in bodies. The homo­
geneous, passive, generic subject of change. It is
neither quantity, quality nor quiddity.
MATTER (of proposition), the matter of a
proposition is said to be the terms considered out
of relation. The terms viewed as material for any
sort of comparison.
MECHANICISM, a theory which denies the
existence of final causes. Ant: teleology.
MECHANICS, a branch of physics dealing with
forces and motion.
MEDIUM (L. medius, middle), the agency or
means of communicating an impression.

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Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

MEMORY (L. memor, to be mindful), is the
mental faculty by which one is able to retain, recall
and recognize past experiences (sensuous memory)
and rational cognitions (intellectual memory). Ant:
forgetfulness, obliviousness; syn: recollection, rem­
iniscence, remembrance.
'
MERCY (L. merces, reward, pay), is that quality
or virtue of a person by reason of which he is
inclined to temper the severity of rigorous justice
and to judge the wrongdoings of men with com­
passion. Ant: severity, hard-heartedness, tyranny;
syn: compassion, leniency, indulgence, clemency.
MERIT (L. meritum, deserved, earned), is that
property of a moral act by reason of which it be­
comes deserving of reward or punishment.
MERIT condign, is the right to a reward grounded
in strict justice.
MERIT congruous, equitable, when the right
springs from equity or decency. Ant: demerit, un­
deserved, unearned; syn: right, desert, claim, title.
METAPHYSICS (Gk. meta ta phusica, beyond the
physical), the science of immaterial being. A philosophical science that studies all being in its first
causes. Ant: physics; syn: ontology.
METHOD (L. methodus, way), the arrangement
of acts in a series in such a way as to secure a
definite end. In Logic, the arrangement of Inference
is a series with reference to a definite end, way of
reaching an end, a system of right procedure. Syn:
arrangement, order.
METHOD analytic (Gk. analytikos, resolving into
elements), in a chain of reasoning when each successive syllogism has for a premise the conclusion
of the syllogism which follows, the reasoning or
method is analytic. The analaysis of a composite
whole into its constituent elements, e. g., proving
a theorem in geometry.

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

41

METHOD deductive, (L. de, and ducere, to lead
down, to descend). The method employed when the
movement in thought is from the logically simple
to the logically complex. Or from a logical whole
to "its logical part. It is applicable to every syllo­
gism considered in itself, but not always to poly­
syllogisms.
METHOD inductive, (L. inducere, to lead into),
an ordered scheme of mental activities by which
from a consideration of concrete cases we may rise
to the discovery and proof of general laws.
METHOD synthetic, (Gk. synthetikos, pertaining
to a synthesis or putting together). When each suc­
cessive syllogism of a series has for its conclusion
a premise of the syllogism which follows the reason­
ing or method is called synthetic. Advancing from
simple data to more elaborate laws, as is the case
in such sciences as Ethics and Geometry. Syn:
method of composition, method of building up the
complex whole from simple elements.
MINERAL (F. minéral, mine), inorganic sub­
stance. .
MIRACLE (L. mirror, wonder), a sensible effect
produced by God transcending the force of nature;
preternatural phenomenon or event.
MODEL (L. modus, manner), prototype, examplar, ideal, plan, design.
MODERNISM, an epistemological theory (held
by LeRoy, Loisy, Sabatier, Tyrrell), which reduces
the supernatural order to a projection of the human
mind. According to this theory God is made to
Man's image and likeness. Modernism is a com­
pound of agnosticism and immanentism. It is philo­
sophic Idealism, applied to the supernatural order.
Syn: Higher Criticism.
MOLECULE (L. dim. of moles, mass), the small-

42

Dictionary of Terms in P'mtosopny

est particle of a chemical compound; a group of
atoms.
·
MONAD (Gk. monas, unit), see Dynamism.
MONISM (Gk. monos, alone), a philosophical
system which reduces reality to a single principle,
such as Pantheism. Ant: dualism and pluralism.
MONISM (Gk. monas, one), is the philosophical
theory that all reality is one and the same substance.
MONISM Materialistic, all reality is material
substance.
MONISM Pantheistic (Idealistic), all reality is
Divine substance. Ant : dualism, pluralism ; syn :
eleaticism, transcendentalism.
MOOD of syllogism (L. modus syllogistici, mode
of reasoning), the character imparted to the form of
a syllogism by reason of the quantity and quality of
the three component propositions.
MORAL (L. mos, custom), is that quality of a
human act by reason of which it may be classified
as reasonable, right, good, commendable. Ant: im­
moral, irrational, evil; syn: rational, just, good.
MORALITY (L. moralitas), is that quality of
human acts by reason of which some may be called
good, others bad, or which causes some to agree,
others to disagree with conscience or the eternal law.
MORALITY Extrinsic, is that which attaches to
actions which are good or bad merely because com­
manded or prohibited by some positive law.
MORALITY intrinsic, is that which belongs to
actions commanded or forbidden because they are
in themselves right or wrong, i. e., which involve
essential and unchangeable relationships.
MORALITY objective, is the ethical quality of
an act considered in the abstract, i. e., merely as a
deed done, apart from all reference to a concrete
agent.

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Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

43

MORALITY subjective, is the ethical quality of
an action as determined by reference to its agree­
ment or disagreement with conscience or the proxiamte norm of morality. *
MORAL certainty, is the state of mind which
results from the possession of such evidence for the
truthfulness of a statement as will exclude all reason­
able doubt.

MORAL obligation, is duty or the moral necessity
one is under by virtue of law or custom to do or
not to do certain things.

MOTION (L. movere, to move), local change;
transition from one place to another.
MULTITUDE (L. multa, many), that which re­
sults from a grouping of units or individuals, one
of which is not the other. Ant: unit; syn: number,
throng.
MUSIC (Gk. mousike, of the Muses), the art of
combining inarticulate sounds in a pleasing and
rythmical manner. “A series of sounds which call
to one another” (St. John Damascene).
MYSTICISM (Gk. musterion, from muo, to close
lips or eyes), an Oriental theory of knowledge, ac­
cording to which truth is felt rather than perceived.
NATURALISM, see materialism.
NATURALISM (L. natura, nature), a school of
art which employs a crude realism by exploiting
vulgar and obscene material.
NATURAL SCIENCE, a generic title which in­
cludes the physical and biological sciences as op­
posed tp the human or social sciences.
NATURE (L. nasci, born), the substance, essence
or constitution of a thing; the principle of activity
and finality in a thing; collectively, the sum-total of
the particular natures of individuals.

44

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

NEBULA (L. nebula, mist), cloudy and hazy
masses of matter in the heavens ■which are supposed
·· to generate stars.
NECESSITY (L. necessitas), determination to
one thing, or one state, or one end. ■ the impossibility
of being otherwise, or in any other condition. That
which must be had if a certain end is to be achieved.
Ant: contingence.
NECESSITY moral, that kind of necessity which
demands a certain means to the attainment of an
end on account of the difficulty, not on account of
the absolute impossibility, of attaining that end
without such a means. Thus, revelation of natural
religious truths is said to be morally necessary that
man should think rightly about God and religion.
NECESSITY physical, that which demands a
certain means to the attainment of an end on ac­
count of the natural impossibility of attaining that
end. Thus, revelation of mysteries,, is physically
necessary if the human mind is to know them at all.
NISUS (L. niter, lean), the cosmic urge or im­
pulse in the philosophy of Alexander.
NOMINALISM (L. nomen, name), a theory which
attempted to solve the problem of universals by
reducing the latter to mere words or sounds. Syn:
subjectivism, idealism.
•
OBJECT (L. objectum, from objicere, throw), that
which is known by the subject or presented in ex­
perience, sense datum, concrete reality. Whatever
is extramental; the non-ego.
OBVERSION (L. obversio, a turning), a process
of eduction in which the mind after comparing the
subject of a given proposition with the contradictory
of its predicate perceives the new relation as. op­
posite in quality.
. OCCASION (L. ob, and cadere, to fall before, to

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

45

turn out), a circumstance favoring action, e. g., a
presidential campaign is an occasion for oratory.
Syn: chance, opportunity.

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OCCASIONALISM (L. occasio, occasion), is the
teaching of those who deny to created things the
exercise of any real causality and holds that all ap­
parent creature-activity is only the occasion for God
acting through them.
OMNIPOTENCE (L. omnia, potens), the power to
control and govern everything.
OMNISCIENCE (L. omnia and scire, to know all),
that attribute by virtue of which God knows all
thing?. ,
ONTOLOGISM (Gk. ons, being, and logos, sci­
ence), the epistemological theory of those who con­
tend that as God is first in the order of existence
so He is also first in the order of knowledge.
ONTOLOGY (Gk. on, being; logos, science, study), the philosophical study of being; study of the
first principles of being; theory of reality. Syn:
metaphysics, philosophy.
OPINION (L. opinari, to have a belief), a judg­
ment which is accompanied by moral certitude, but
which is generally associated with a prudent fear
that its contradictory may be true. A judgment
which may perhaps be questioned. Syn: uncon­
firmed, judgment, theory, hypothesis.
OPPOSITION (L. opponere, to oppose), Proposi­
tions which may have the same subject and predicate
but which differ in quantity or quality or both are
said to be “opposed.”
OPTIMISM (L. optimum, the best), the doctrine
that life is worth while; a hopeful view of existence
(Of. Leibnitz). Ant: pessimism.
ORDER (L. ordo), “The arrangement of a multi­
plicity of things, similar and dissimilar, so that each

46

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

has its proper place” (St. Augustine); right or
proper arrangement or disposition; due proportion.
ORDER (in art), the essence of beauty (see congruity) ; the regular disposition and methodical ar­
rangement of factors; regularity, propriety, due
proportion, system. Ant: chaos, confusion, distor­
tion, ugliness, incongruity.

ORDER ontological, the order of causes; the
metaphysical world.
ORDER ideal, the mental world, of which there
need not be a real counterpart.
OWNERSHIP, is the right of property, or that
moral power, conferred upon a person by natural
positive law, to dispose of what is his in any manner
consonant with the rights of others.
PAIN (Gk. pqine a fine), strictly speaking, is undeflnable. It may be described as any disagreeable
or distressing experience. Ant: pleasure; syn: hurt,
wound.
PAINTING (L. pingere, pictus), the art of pic­
turing objects with a brush in color on canvas, or
similar surfaces.
PANTHEISM (Gk. pan, and, theos, god), a philo­
sophical system which denies any real distinction be­
tween God and the world; a theory that everything
is God.
PASSION (L. pati, to suffer, feel, experience),
any quality that modifies a subject in some material
way; a violent emotion, any emotional tendency.
Syn: emotion, feeling.
PERCEPTION (L. percipere, from capere, take),
sense knowledge, experience, sensation; it includes
seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, and smelling.
PERFECTION (L. per, through, and facere, to do
or make), a thing is perfect if it has all that its

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

47

nature demands; fulness of being. Syn: accomplish­
ment, attainment, completeness, integrity.
PERFECTION mixed, is one whose concept does
not exclude some imperfection; it is the relatively
perfect, e. g., heat, height, color.
PERFECTION pure, is one whose concept ex­
cludes all notions of imperfection, hence one that it
is better to possess than not to possess under all
circumstances, e. g., life, liberty, intelligence.
PERSON (L. persona, mask for actors; per,
through, and sonus, sound), a subsisting individual
of a rational kind; an existent with purpose of its
own. Syn: individual, self.
PERSONALITY, the subsistence of a complete
rational individual. Syn: individuality, character,
person.
PESSIMISM (L. pessimum, the worst), the doc­
trine that existence is evil, a calamity; that life is
not worth while.
PHENOMENAL, (a) whatever pertains to a phe­
nomenon or appearance; (b) something extraordi­
nary, exceptional, unique.
PHENOMENALISM (Gk. phaino, to show), is the
epistemological theory that there is no certain
knowledge but of phenomena or qualities, appear­
ances, and by extension, that nothing else exists.
Ant: dualism, realism; syn: sensism, positivism.
PHENOMENON (Gk. phaino, to show, or phao, to
shine), is a quality as opposed to thing qualified; ac­
cident as opposed to substance; action as opposed to
agent. Ant: noumenon; syn: quality, attribute, ac­
cident, appearance.
PHENOMENON (Gk. phainomai, appear), sense
datum, fact, event, appearance, occurrence. Ant:
reality, noumenon.
PHOTON (Gk. photos, light), a term used by

48

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

Compton to designate the ultimate particle of
electro-magnetic, radiation,
PHYSICAL, material, corporeal, natural. 'Ant:
spiritual, psychic.
PHYSICS (Gk. phusis, nature), science of the
properties and movements of matter and energy.
PLACE (Gk. plateis, flat, wide), the surface of a
body taken as a receptacle for the body. Syn: loca­
tion, position, situation, spot, space, station.
PLEASURE (Fr. plaisir, to please), is not strictly
definable. It may be described as an agreeable feel­
ing, and in this sense is a quality or tone of a phys­
ical or mental state or action. Ant: pain; syn:
gratification, joy, delight.
PLURALISM (L. plus,-plures, more, several), the
doctrine (a) that things are many and not just one,
and (b) that there is no real unity in the world, only
a pluri-verse, not a uni-verse. Cf. dualism, monism,
universalism.
POETRY (Gk. poetes, maker), elevated composi­
tion, usually metrical; the language of passion and
imagination.
POLYANDRA (Gk. polus, many; aner, man), is
the simultaneous possession of several husbands by
one woman. Syn: bigamy.
POLYGAMY (Gk. polus, many; gamia, wives),
the marriage of several women to one man.
POLYSYLLOGISM (Gk. poly, and syllogismos,
many arguments fused together). Two or more syl­
logisms dovetailed in either a progressive or regres­
sive form. Syn: chain of reasoning.
POSITIVISM (L. ponere, to place), is the philo­
sophical doctrine which maintains that no scientific
knowledge of anything is attainable except by way
of the application of quantitative methods. All
anti-metaphysical philosophy. Ant: intellectualism;
syn: sensism, phenomenalism.

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

49

POSSIBILITY (L. possibilitas, from posse, to be
able), conceivability; the mere non-absurdity or non­
repugnance of an idea; capability of being done or
made.
POTENCY (L. potens, part, of posse, be able), a
tendency to actuality; dormant capacity; latent
power; ability, faculty, quiescent aptitude.
POTENCY objective, the mere non-repugnance of
an object of thought to actual existence. Syn: ab­
solute, logical, metaphysical or intrinsic potency.
POTENTIALITY, see potency.
POWER, see potency.
PRACTICAL, as applied to knowledge, is informa­
tion that can be put to use, or made to serve as an
instrument for the attainment of desired ends. Ant:
speculative; syn: practicable.
PRACTICAL in general, anything that is service­
able in the affairs of daily life.
PRACTICAL pertaining to good judgment or
common sense.
PRAGMATISM (Gk. prasso, to do), is a species
of voluntarism which “interprets the meaning of
conceptions by asking what difference they make in
the matter of life, conduct and activity experience.”
(Turner).
PREDICABLE (L. praedicare, to assert), a name
which signifies the class of concepts, or terms that
express the relation that obtains on the mental side
between a predicate and its subject, e. g., genus,
species, differentia, property and accident.
PREDICATE (L. praedicare, to assert), is that
which is affirmed or denied of a subject and is such
because it is attributed to something. In a proposi­
tion, which is in logical form, all to the right of the
copula is the predicate.
. .
PREMISE (L. praemittere, to send before), a

. 50

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

name applied to any one of the propositions contain­
ing the middle term of a syllogism.

PREMOTION, physical, a physical, not a moral,
movement imparted by God to free creatures, effec­
tively determining their choice.

PRETTY (Ο. E. praettig, trick), diminutive
beauty; the beautiful in miniature.
PRINCIPLE (L. principium, beginning, source,
from prae, before, and caput, head), that from
which anything originates, a source, beginning; also
a general truth, a fixed standard or rule of action; a
constituent.
PRINCIPLE of Causality, anything that begins to
be has a cause; nothing is or changes without a suf­
ficient reason.
PRINCIPLES, First, rules or formulae taken as
self-evident, e. g., the principle of contradiction;
principles or general truths assumed to be demon­
strated in the construction of any science.
PRINCIPLE of Sufficient Reason, everything has
in itself or in another the sufficient reason for what
it is or does.
PROBABILISM (L. probabile, probable), is the
ethical view that when there is question only of the
lawfulness of an action, lacking certainty, one is
free to act as he wishes provided he have at least
one solidly probable opinion to justify his conduct.
Ant: rigorism, laxism.
PROBABILITY (L. probabilis, likely), the esti­
mated value of an opinion, or the expression of the
weight of the evidence. (See opinion and evidence).
PROCESS (L. procedere, to proceed), any change
which is featured by some sort of unity or continuity
as opposed to a product, which is something that is
left after the process has ceased.
PROPERTY (L. proprium, one’s own, and res,

bictionary of Terms in Philosophy

51

thing), in Ethics, is the moral power, deriving from
law, to dispose of a thing as one may desire, so long
as the rights of others are not infringed upon. Syn:
ownership, dominion.
PROPERTY private, if vested in a private indi­
vidual or imperfect society.
.
PROPERTY (in metaphysics), a property is that
non-essential part of the subject which necessarily
results from the essence. -It is always where the
essence is and always absent from any other essence.
The relation between essence and property is causal,
e. g., man’s ability to cook, or handle fire.
PROPOSITION (L. proponere, to place before), a
proposition is a judgment symbolized in words and
so arranged as to convey a complete thought: the
spoken or written symbol or expression of the
mental act of judgment.
PROTOTYPE (Gk. protos, first, and tupos, type),
an original plan, a first design according to which
other things are to be copied. Syn: plan.
PROTON (Gk. protos, first), the ultimate unit of
positive electricity contained within nucleus of an
atom.
· ·
PROTYLE (Gk. protos, and hyle), a term used by
Crooks to designate an element common to all bodies
(See prime matter).
PRUDENCE (L. prudentia), is a moral virtue by
reason of which one becomes better able to judge
what in any circumstances is to be done as good and
to be avoided as evil. Ant: rashness, tactlessness.
PROVIDENCE (L. providere, to look ahead), the
plan in acordance with which God disposes all things
and leads them to the end He has determined. Syn:
foresight.
PSYCHIATRY (Gk. psyche, mind, and iatreia,
healing), is the “practice or science of treating
mental diseases.” (Cent, diet.)

1

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

PSYCHOANALYSIS (Gk. psyche, soul, mind, and
analuein, to unloose), is the-art of mental explora­
tion which has for its objective the relief of mental
disorders. Also, the science of mental exploration
and subsequent diagnosis of psychic disorders.
PSYCHOLOGY (Gk. psyche, soul or mind, and
logos, science), is the study of living bodies from the
viewpoint of their vital principles or soul.
PSYCHOLOGY empirical or phenomenal, is “an
inquiry into the character of our various mental
states and operations” (Maher).
PSYCHOLOGY rational or philosophical, is a
study of the nature of the soul and of its relations
to the body.
PSYCHOSIS, is a mental malady, characterized
by psychic disturbances which cannot be ascribed to
any organic lesion.
PURPOSE (L. pro, before, and ponere, to place),
that for which anything acts or is done; the aim,
end in view, final cause. Syn: final cause, good,
value.
PURPOSE (F. purposer), design, intention, plan,
final cause.
QUALITY (L. qualis, of what kind), broadly, any
determination of a thing; strictly, an accidental
modification of a substance that answers to the ques­
tion, Of what kind is it? Cf. quantity.
QUALITY, of a proposition is an accident of its
form and depends upon the nature of the copula.
The affirmative or negative character of a proposi­
tion. See copula.
QUALITY primary, the name used by Locke and
others for mass, extension and motion; what the
scholastics call a common sensible.
QUALITY secondary, the term used by Locke and

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

53

his contemporaries for color, odor; what the Schol­
astics call a proper sensible.
QUANTITY (L. quantitas), the most characteris­
tic accident or property of bodies whereby they have
integral parts and occupy space.
QUANTITY of propositions, an accident of the
matter of a proposition. It includes the extension
of the subject term only, which is used as a basis of
classification with reference to propositions.
QUIDDITY (L. quid, what), the essence, nature,
stuff or constitution of a thing as opposed to its
properties accidents, or phenomena.
RADIATION (L. radius), transmission of energy
through space in waves; dynamic disturbances in the
ether.
RADIO ACTIVITY, the spontaneous emission of
radiant energy caused by the disintegration of the
nucleus of atoms of uranium, radium, etc. (Dis­
covered 1896).
■> RATIONALISM (L. ratio, reason), a philosophical
system that rejects as uncertain all knowledge which
reason alone cannot discover. The tendency to reject
as untrue and non-existant knowledge had through
Revelation.

REAL (L. res, thing), that which is objective
or non-mental.
·
REALISM (L. res, thing, and realis, real), is the
epistemological doctrine that maintains the real dis­
tinction between the thing known and the idea by
which it is known. It teaches that the act of know­
ing in no way affects the existence of the thing
known. Ant:. Idealism; syn: dualism.
REALITY: (a) anything that exists; (b) any­
thing independent of man, especially of his thinking;
(c) the actual; (d) the existent.

54

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

REALIZATION, self, see perfection, happiness,
end.
REASON (L. reri, consider), the name given to
processes of the intellect.
REBELLION (L. re, again, and bellum, war),
the political act by which a social group rejects the
authority of an established government and by armed
force seeks to set up a new government.
REFLECTION (L. re, and flectere, bend), the
process whereby the intellect looks into itself, recon­
siders its own acts, makes itself the object of its
consideration ; introspection.
RELATION (L. re, again or back, and latus,
brought), an accident that consists in the bearing
of one thing on another, and which is located be­
tween thing and thing. Syn : connection, bearing,
link, reference.
RELATION accidental, non-essential or unneces­
sary, as between teacher and pupil.
RELATION essential, essential or necessary de­
pendence; as a child on its parents.
RELATION logical, a relation in which neither
term is really dependent.
RELATION mixed, a relation in which one term
is really dependent, the other is not; a logical-real
relation.
RELATION real, a two-way relation, or a rela­
tion in which both terms are really affected.
RELATIVE, (a) conditioned, dependent, not abso­
lute, limited; (b) relational, i. e., being one term of
a relation.
.
RELATIVISM (L. relatus, from referre), the
theory of knowledge, according to which truth is
subjective and variable thing. Hence it admits no
absolute standards. All propositions are conditional
and dependent upon the knowing subject.

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

55

RELATIVITY, theory of Einstein that time and
velocity are relative, i. e., dependent upon the
observer, or subjective.
RELIGION (L. re, and ligare, to bind), the sum
total of dogmatic and moral truths that govern
man’s relations with God; the internal and external
acts of worship; the practise of supernatural virtue.

RESERVATION, mental, is the act of conceal­
ing through the use of ambiguous language or by
signs the whole or part of the truth in one’s posses­
sion from inquirers who have no right to know it.
REVELATION (L. re, and velum, removal of a
veil), knowledge imparted on the authority of the
speaker. A communication of knowledge to be
accepted on the word of the one communicating.
RIGHT (Ger. recht), is the moral power conferred
by law to do or not to do something, as, v. g., the
right to live, to marry.
SANCTION (L. sancire, make sacred), is the
series of rewards and punishments set up by legis­
lators in order to insure the observance of law.
SANCTION eternal, is the reward or punish­
ment that under the divine plan awaits those
respectively who have either kept or violated the
commandments; i. e., heaven and hell.
SANCTION imperfect, the rewards and punish­
ments meted out by civil legislators or by the cus­
toms and attitudes of social life, or even by the
natural law, but which are insufficient to obtain full
obedience to law.
SANCTION perfect, such as through the hope of
reward or the fear of punishment, keep free beings
within the pale of law, or at least insure repentance
once it has been violated.
SANCTION temporal, the rewards and punish­

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy
ments to which men are subject during the present
life.

SCULPTURE (L. sculpere), the art of represent­
ing objects in the round or in relief by chiselling
stone, modeling clay, carving wood, or casting metal.
SENSATION, inasmuch as it may be defined at
all, may be called that vital act by which a man
apprehends the qualities of extended bodies.
SENSISM (L. sensus, sense organ), is the episte­
mological theory which asserts that the only object
of certain knowledge is sense objects, and that no
methods of investigation are valid but the methods
of physical science. Ant: intellectualism; syn:
positivism.
SENTIMENTALISM (L. sentire, to feel), is the
epistemological theory that the criterion of certitude
and morality is sentiment or feeling, a blind, in­
stinctive impulse impelling one to accept or reject
a given proposition as true or false. Ant: rational­
ism; syn: voluntarism.
SENTIMENTS, aesthetic, (L. sentire, feel), those
higher emotions or feelings that we experience in
perceiving the beautiful, the sublime, etc.
SIN, is any wilful transgression by thought, word
or deed of the law of God. This includes of course
the just laws of the state. Ant: virtuous act, lawful
act; syn: crime, irrational act, moral delinquency.
SKEPTICISM (Gk. skeptomai, to examine, in­
quire), a theory which denies the power of the mind
to reach certitude and makes doubt its‘first prin­
ciple.
SOCIALISM, is that form of communism which
would transfer to the state the ownership and ad­
ministration of those forms of wealth employed in
production and distribution.
SOCIETY (L. societas), is a stable moral union

Dictionary of Terms' in Philosophy

57

of many individuals and families seeking a common
end by the use of common means.
SOLAR SYSTEM (L. sol, sun), the name given
to the group of heavenly bodies to which our planet,
the earth, belongs. It includes the sun and Mercury,
Venus, Mars, Neptune, etc.
SOLIPSISM (L. solus, only, and ipse, one’s self),
the position reached by the subjective idealist in
in which he admits the existence of nothing other
than himself.
SPACE (L. spatium), distance, interval, the total
extension of the entire physical universe considered
as a receptacle in which that universe is placed. (It
is continuous, homogeneous, and finite and is sup­
posed to contain the hypothetical ether. This is real
actual or physical space. It is mental but with a
basis in reality).
SPACE absolute, real space plus possible space.
SPACE ideal, ideal, pure or absolute space exists
now beyond creation and existed everywhere before
creation.
SPACE possible, space unoccupied by actual
bodies.
■
'
SPACE real, space occupied by bodies or a body.
SPECTRUM (L. spectrum, image), phenomenon
produced by decomposing light into its component
wave-lengths by prismatic refraction or diffractiongrating.
STAGIRITE, the, Stageira, the town where
Aristotle was born.
SUBLIME (L. sublimen, reaching up), exaltedand intense beauty; excessive or superlative charm.
SUBJECT (L. sub, and iicere, throw), that which
knows the object; the ego, self, person, mind.
SUBJECTIVISM, a form of idealism, which re-

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58

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

duces the object to a mere projection of the subject;
psychologism. ·
SUBSISTENCE (L. sub, under, and stare, to
stand), the perfection by which a complete individ­
ual nature, or substance, actually exists and func­
tions.
SUBSTANCE (L. sub, under, and stare, stand),
that which exists in itself, reality, being, nature,
essence, stuff, constitution, matter and spirit. Ant:
accident, property, phenomenon. ·
SUBSTANCE complete, a substance that can
exist and perform all its natural functions without
union with any other substance.
SUBSTANCE first, the individual substance, the
individual.
SUBSTANCE incomplete, a substance that can­
not discharge all its natural functions without union
with other substance.
SUBSTANCE material, corporeal or physical sub­
stance ; extended substance.
SUBSTANCE second, the universal, the concept.
SUBSTANCE spiritual, the thinking, willing, ani­
mating principle. Syn : spirit, soul, mind, self, im­
material substance.
SUCCESSION (L. sub, under, and cedere, go),
the state or condition of one thing following an­
other; of things in a before-and-after relation. Syn:
sequence, change.
SUICIDE (L. supsum, self, and occidere, to kill),
is the directly intended and effectively procured
destruction of one’s life.
SUICIDE Direct, as above.
SUICIDE Indirect, is “an action whose certain
and foreseen effect is the death of the agent without
its being intentionally willed or aimed at as an end
in itself.”

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

59

SUPPOSITUM (L. sub, beneath, and ponere, to
• put), a complete individual nature existing in itself.
Syn: individual, thing, person.
TASTE (L. tangere, to touch), in aesthetics, the
aesthetic faculty; the power of discerning and dis-,
criminating among things of beauty.
TELEOLOGY (Gr. telos, end, and logos, science,
study), the study of ends, purposes, final causes, the
end of action. Syn: adaptation, design, finality;
(cf. meaning, purpose, final cause, mechanism).

TEMPERANCE (L. ’ temperantia), is that car­
dinal virtue which so moderates one’s desires and
actions as to keep them within the bounds of reason.
Ant: intemperance; syn: moderation, restraint.
TERM (L. terminus, end), the word expressing a
• concept (Logic).
TESTIMONY (L. testis, witness), the sensible
sign by which the witness relates his knowledge;
evidence, authority, the object of faith or belief;
statement.
TIME (Ο. E. tima; da, time cogn. with tide),
duration, continued existence, the measurement of
the succession involved in change.
TIME imaginary, the mind’s measurement of the
movement of things which do not exist or do not
change.
TIME real, the really changing world; the mind’s
measurement of the really changing world.
THEISM (theos, god), a system of thought de­
fending the existence of God. A philosophy which
accepts and treats of a supreme personal being.
Ant: atheism; syn: belief in God.
THEODICY (Theos, God, and dicere, speak),
natural knowledge of the existence and nature of
God. That knowledge of God, his characteristics

60

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

and operations which can be had by the light of
natural reason alone. Syn: Natural Theology.
THEOLOGY (Theos, God, and logos, study),
knowledge of the existence and nature of God.
Science or faith of God.
THEOPHOBIA (Gk. theos, God, and phobia,
fear), an unreasonable fear of the logical consequences of admitting God’s existence.
THEORY (Gk. theoreo, behold), opinion, doctrine,
supposed explanation, speculative view.
THOUGHT, a general term covering all the processes of intellect, namely: conception, judgment,
and inference.
TRADITIONALISM (L. traditio,a handing

down), is that species of rationalism which holds
that “all primal verities of which we are possessed
depend for their certainty not on reason, but on
tradition of some kind .... those truths being
handed down by the gift of speech” (Hettinger).
Its ultimate criterion of truth is Divine Revelation.
TRANSCENDENTAL (L. trans, beyond, and
scandere, to climb), beyond any category, applicable to all things; non-empirical, apriori; an attribute
of any and all being.

TRANSFORMATION (L. trans, over, and forma,
form), doctrine of the development of one living
species from another; change, evolution.
TRANSITION (L. trans, beyond, and ire, to go),
the act of passing from one state or condition to
another. Syn : change, becoming, mutation, process.
TRUTH, is the conformity of the mind with
reality as it is.
TRUTH logical, the conformity of our concepts
with things.
TRUTH moral, the conformity of our speech .with
our concepts.

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Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

61

TRUTH metaphysical, the conformity of things
with the Divine Mind.
. TRUTH immediate, when that conformity is
known without the processes of discursive thought.

TRUTH mediate, when known by acts of formal
reasoning.
TRUTH relative, when it depends upon contin­
gent things or events.

TRUTH provisional, an hypothesis, i. e., some­
thing assumed true and used as a working basis for
possible discovery.
TRUTH transcendai, one of the attributes of
Being as Being.

►

1

TUTORISM (L. tutior, comparative form of tutus,
safe); is the ethical view that when there is question
of the lawfulness of an act, one must always decide
against liberty or in favor of the law.
TYRANNY (Gk., turannis, depotism), is that
defective form of government in which the mere
will of the legislator is substituted for consideration
of the common good. Syn: despotism, misrule,
oppression.

UGLY (Norsè, uggr, fear), non-beautiful, incon­
gruous, disordered, homely, drab, sordid, repulsive,
revolting, disgusting.
UNDERSTANDING (Ο. E., understanding). See
intellect.
UNICITY (L. unum, one), the character of one­
ness, uniqueness. A unique thing is always sui
generis, in a class by itself.
UNITY (L. unum, one), oneness, undividedness
of being.
UNIVERSAL, a general idea that can be predi­
cated of a.class. Ant: individual, particular, singular.

62

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

UNIVERSE (L. unus, one, and vertere, turn, com­
bine into one), the sum-total of existence or reality.
UNIVOCAL (L. unum, one, and vox, voice),
capable of having an idea predicated of them in the
same sense. Syn: identical, generic (cf. analogical,
equivocal).
USEFUL (L. uti, usus, to use), serving practical
ends as opposed to ornamental, decorative or beau­
tiful, or speculative.

VALUE (L. valere, to be strong), capacity of a
thing to be or become an object or end of action.
VERACITY (L. verax, true), the trustworthiness
or credibility of a witness; the quality of truthful­
ness.
VARIATION (L. variare), change; departure
from the normal or reality; deviation from biological
type.
VICE (L. vitium, defect), is a habit of doing evil,
a bad quality of the will by which one acts mali­
ciously with ease. Ant : virtue.
VITRUE (L. virtus, power), is a good habit of
mind or will by reason of which a person may more
easily, pleasantly and effectively accomplish ends
prescribed by the moral law. Ant: vice.
VIRTUE moral, one of whose subject is the will
of a free agent, in contrast with an intellectual vir­
tue, which is a perfection of the intellect.
VIRTUE cardinal, those moral virtues the practise
of which involves the practice of all other moral
virtues, i. e., prudence, justice, temperance, and for­
titude.
VITALISM (L. vita, life), a doctrine that life
originates in a vital principle distinct from mechani­
cal, mineral, physical, and chemical forces.
VOLUME (L. volumen, from volvere, roll), con­
tent or bulk.

Dictionary of Terms in Philosophy

63

VOLUNTARISM (L. voluntas, will), a theory of
knowledge whose criterion of truth is practical and
appetitive rather than cognitive and theoretical.
VOLUNTARINESS (L. voluntarium, done of
one’s own will), is that quality taken on by an
action by reason of its springing from the will of a
free agent.
VOLUNTARINESS direct, when the act is the
result of a positive resolution directed immediately
toward a given determined object.
VOLUNTARINESS indirect, when directed to­
ward one object which necessarily includes another.
VOLUNTARINESS imperfect, when not wholly
the result of knowledge or deliberation.
VOLUNTARINESS perfect, when the result of
adequate knowledge and sufficient deliberation.

WAR, is an armed conflict between soverign states
for the purpose of vindicating real or fancied rights
not obtainable by other methods.
WAVE-MOTION (O. E., wafian, wave hand),
vibration, oscillation, rising, curling, arching; sinu­
ous disturbance of the particles of a fluid medium.
WELFARE, a state of contentment, attainment,
realization, sufficiency. Syn: happiness, end, well­
being, perfection, satisfaction.
WILL, is the mental power of rational choice; the
rational appetite, that power or faculty of our
rational nature which chooses the good when pre­
sented by the intellect. Ant: sense appetite or in­
clination, instinct.
WITNESS (Ο. E., witt, knowledge), he who re­
veals his own knowledge to others; spectator, by­
stander, authority, he who is believed.
WORLD (Ο. E., wer, man, and eld, old), all crea­
tion; the universe; the earth or globe; objective
reality.

it