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Philosophy Extended

Ethics, political philosophy, phenomenology, and Eastern thought

5 categories50 words

All 5 Categories

Ethics & Moral Philosophy

Theories of right action and the good life

Political Philosophy

Theories of justice, rights, and governance

Phenomenology & Existentialism

Philosophy of experience, existence, and authentic being

Metaphysics (Advanced)

Fundamental questions about reality, being, and existence

Eastern Philosophy

Concepts from Asian philosophical traditions

All 50 Words in Philosophy Extended

Complete vocabulary list for easy reference and copy-paste.

⚖️Ethics & Moral Philosophy10

Term	Definition	Example
deontology	ethical theory that judges actions by adherence to rules or duties	"Deontology holds that some acts are wrong regardless of consequences."
consequentialism	ethical theory judging actions by their outcomes	"Consequentialism asks whether an action produces more good than harm."
virtue ethics	ethical theory focused on character rather than rules or outcomes	"Virtue ethics asks what a person of good character would do."
categorical imperative	Kant's principle that one should act only according to universalizable maxims	"The categorical imperative forbids lying even to save a life."
moral relativism	the view that moral judgments are not universally valid	"Moral relativism suggests ethics vary across cultures."
normative	relating to standards of right and wrong conduct	"Normative ethics prescribes how we ought to behave."
metaethics	the study of the nature and foundations of moral thought	"Metaethics asks whether moral facts exist."
hedonism	the view that pleasure is the highest good	"Ethical hedonism holds that pleasure alone has intrinsic value."
altruism	selfless concern for the welfare of others	"Effective altruism applies reason to doing the most good."
autonomy	the capacity for self-governance and independent moral choice	"Respect for autonomy is central to medical ethics."

🏛️Political Philosophy10

Term	Definition	Example
social contract	the implicit agreement among individuals to form society	"Hobbes argued the social contract prevents a war of all against all."
sovereignty	supreme authority within a territory	"Popular sovereignty places ultimate power in the people."
liberty	freedom from arbitrary restraint or coercion	"Negative liberty is freedom from interference by others."
justice	the fair and equitable treatment of individuals	"Rawls defined justice as fairness behind a veil of ignorance."
egalitarianism	the doctrine that all people are equal and deserve equal rights	"Egalitarianism challenges inherited privilege and aristocracy."
libertarianism	political philosophy emphasizing individual liberty and minimal state	"Libertarianism opposes most government intervention in private affairs."
communitarianism	philosophy emphasizing community bonds over individual rights	"Communitarianism critiques liberal individualism."
legitimacy	the rightful authority to exercise political power	"Democratic elections confer legitimacy on governments."
natural rights	rights inherent to human beings, not granted by government	"Locke argued for natural rights to life, liberty, and property."
distributive justice	the fair allocation of goods and resources in society	"Distributive justice asks how wealth should be shared."

🌀Phenomenology & Existentialism10

Term	Definition	Example
intentionality	the directedness of consciousness toward objects	"Husserl identified intentionality as the key feature of consciousness."
dasein	Heidegger's term for human existence as 'being-there'	"Dasein is always already thrown into a world of meaning."
being-in-the-world	the inseparability of human existence from its environment	"Being-in-the-world means we cannot be understood apart from our context."
authenticity	living according to one's own values rather than conforming	"Authenticity requires confronting our mortality and finitude."
angst	existential anxiety arising from awareness of freedom and mortality	"Kierkegaard saw angst as the dizziness of freedom."
absurdism	the conflict between human search for meaning and a meaningless universe	"Camus embraced absurdism: we must imagine Sisyphus happy."
bad faith	self-deception about one's freedom and responsibility	"The waiter who denies his freedom acts in bad faith."
thrownness	the condition of finding oneself already in a particular situation	"Thrownness means we don't choose our historical circumstances."
lifeworld	the pre-reflective world of everyday lived experience	"Science abstracts from the lifeworld that makes it possible."
facticity	the concrete facts of one's existence that limit possibility	"Facticity includes our body, past, and social situation."

🔮Metaphysics (Advanced)10

Term	Definition	Example
substance	that which exists independently and underlies properties	"Aristotle distinguished substance from its accidental properties."
essence	the fundamental nature that makes something what it is	"Existence precedes essence in existentialist thought."
modality	the study of necessity, possibility, and contingency	"Modal logic formalizes claims about what could or must be."
contingency	that which could have been otherwise	"Contingent truths depend on how the world happens to be."
necessity	that which could not have been otherwise	"Mathematical truths are often considered necessary."
nominalism	the view that universals are merely names, not real entities	"Nominalism denies that 'redness' exists apart from red things."
realism	the view that abstract entities or universals exist independently	"Platonic realism holds that Forms exist in a transcendent realm."
dualism	the view that mind and body are distinct substances	"Cartesian dualism separates mental and physical reality."
monism	the view that reality is fundamentally one kind of thing	"Spinoza's monism identified God with Nature."
causation	the relation between cause and effect	"Hume questioned whether we can know causation directly."

☯️Eastern Philosophy10

Term	Definition	Example
dharma	cosmic law, moral duty, or righteous path	"Following one's dharma means fulfilling one's purpose in life."
karma	the principle that actions have consequences across lifetimes	"Karma links present circumstances to past actions."
samsara	the cycle of death and rebirth	"Liberation means escaping the wheel of samsara."
nirvana	the extinction of desire and liberation from suffering	"The Buddha achieved nirvana under the Bodhi tree."
tao	the fundamental, nameless way of the universe	"The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao."
wu-wei	effortless action in harmony with natural flow	"Wu-wei is acting without forcing or striving."
yin-yang	complementary opposites that form a dynamic whole	"Yin-yang represents the interdependence of all dualities."
zen	direct insight into one's true nature through meditation	"Zen emphasizes practice over scriptural study."
ikigai	one's reason for being or sense of life purpose	"Finding ikigai brings deep satisfaction and meaning."
mushin	the state of no-mind or empty awareness in action	"The swordsman acts from mushin, without hesitation."

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