How Embracing Chaos Can Lead to Personal Transformation
17 June, 2025
Glossary of Philosophical Terms
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Aesthetics
Ancient Philosophy
Epistemology
Ethics
Existentialism
Logic
Metaphysics
Political Philosophy
A
A Posteriori
Knowledge derived from or justified by experience and empirical observation.
A Priori
Knowledge that is independent of experience, known through reason alone.
Absurd
The conflict between human desire for meaning and the universe's apparent meaninglessness.
Angst
A deep anxiety or dread arising from awareness of freedom, mortality, and the groundlessness of existence.
Aporia
A state of puzzlement or impasse in philosophical inquiry, often the result of Socratic questioning.
Ataraxia
A state of serene calmness and freedom from anxiety, the goal of Epicurean and Skeptic philosophy.
B
C
Categorical Imperative
Kant's supreme principle of morality: act only according to maxims you could will to become universal laws.
Cogito
Descartes' famous argument: "I think, therefore I am" (Cogito ergo sum) - the one certainty that survives radical doubt.
D
E
Eudaimonia
Human flourishing or well-being; the highest human good according to Aristotle, achieved through a life of virtue and reason.
Existence Precedes Essence
Sartre's principle that humans have no predetermined nature; we create ourselves through our choices and actions.
L
Logos
Reason, word, or principle; the rational structure underlying reality and human thought.
N
Nous
Mind or intellect; the highest faculty of the soul capable of grasping eternal truths.
O
Ontology
The branch of metaphysics concerned with the nature and relations of being, or the study of what exists.
S
Social Contract
The theory that political authority derives from an agreement among individuals to form a society and government.
State of Nature
A hypothetical condition of human life before or without political society, used to justify the need for government.
Sublime
An aesthetic experience of overwhelming greatness that transcends ordinary beauty, often involving vastness, power, or terror.
Substance
That which exists independently and serves as the underlying reality in which properties inhere.
Syllogism
A form of deductive reasoning consisting of two premises and a conclusion, as in: All men are mortal; Socrates is a man; therefore Socrates is mortal.
T
Tabula Rasa
The theory that the mind begins as a "blank slate" with no innate ideas, all knowledge coming from experience.
U
Utilitarianism
The ethical theory that the right action is the one that produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number.
V
Virtue
A morally excellent character trait or disposition that enables one to act well and live a flourishing life.
W
Will to Power
Nietzsche's concept describing the fundamental driving force in humans: the desire to exert and expand one's power and creative force.
