Across
- 2. knowledge, Unlike empirical knowledge, is knowledge we believe is true because it seems reasonable, and fits in with other things we know are true. It is often more theoretical than empirical knowledge, and often cannot be experienced with the senses, for example, mathematical knowledge.
- 6. bias, The tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's beliefs or hypotheses, while giving disproportionately less consideration to alternative possibilities.
- 10. A meaning we attach to it which is beyond its denotation, and may derive from emotional or cultural associations. One example would be the different connotations of the words ‘terrorist’ and ‘freedom fighter’. They have very similar denotations, but one has a negative connotation, the other, a positive one.
- 11. fallacies, An idea or assertion that uses flawed reasoning to arrive at its conclusion. Fallacies may occur by accident, or be used by people deliberately to persuade others of the dubious truth of what they are saying.
- 12. (Philosophy) a philosophical theory holding that all events are inevitable consequences of antecedent ( prior events) sufficient causes; often understood as denying the possibility of free will.
- 16. knowledge, Knowledge that we have gained personally, by experiencing it for ourselves – usually through our senses. It is sometimes termed a posteriori knowledge, meaning after experience.
- 17. Gestalt Theory, (the word is German for ‘whole’) group of psychologists believed that we discern something in its entirety before we work out its individual parts. This is how we understand the information provided to us by our visual sense.
- 18. theory of truth, States something to be true if it matches up to what we can see is the case. It involves us applying empirical knowledge.
- 19. , An alternative word to one which has undesirable connotations, used in order to give a more positive ‘spin’ to an expression.
- 21. hoc ergo propter hoc, A Latin phrase for "after this, therefore, because of this." The term refers to a logical fallacy that because two events occurred in succession, the former event caused the latter event
- 22. The language of the authorities in George Orwell’s novel 1984. Newspeak discarded any words that were not efficient, and placed highly utilitarian words in their place, in order to control the way people thought
- 24. words, An informal term for words and phrases aimed at creating an impression that a specific and/or meaningful statement has been made, when only a vague or ambiguous claim has been communicated, enabling the specific meaning to be denied if the statement is challenged.
- 26. Theory, The James-Lange theory of emotion suggests that emotions occur as a result of physiological reactions to events.
- 27. An example of a logical argument in which two premises lead to a conclusion. If syllogisms use correct premises, their conclusion must always be valid. One of the most famous syllogism goes like this: Premise 1: All men are human Premise 2: Socrates was a man Conclusion: Socrates was human
Down
- 1. Literal meaning, or the meaning defined by a literary authority (such as a dictionary). This is in contrast to the word’s connotation.
- 3. A form of reasoning in which you go from a specific rule to a general rule. Unlike deduction, induction never gives us certain knowledge, unless you are dealing with mathematics.
- 4. determinism, The idea that language and its structures limit and determine human knowledge or thought, as well as thought processes such as categorization, memory, and perception. The term implies that people of different languages have different thought processes
- 5. Shifts, A term coined by Thomas Kuhn, who said that instead of our scientific knowledge progressing in a linear, passive fashion, new ideas occur violently, and completely revolutionize (or shift) our view of the world (our paradigm).
- 7. Implies that there are definite rights and wrongs that apply all over the world, and for all people. A wrong action would be wrong for anyone, anywhere, at anytime, in any circumstances. It naturally implies that there is some sort of higher, uniting ethical code by which people must live.
- 8. theory of truth, states that something is true if it matches up to what we know to make sense. It is based on us using rational thinking.
- 9. hypothesis, Also known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, this is the idea that our understanding of the word depends to a large extent on the language which we speak. Different cultures perceive the world in different ways, because they express themselves in different ways. This opposes the idea of a universal grammar.
- 13. theory of truth, States that something is true if a majority or large number of people agree that it is true. It is universally regarded by philosophers as the least reliable of the theories of truth.
- 14. If you have a relativist outlook you believe that areas of knowledge (such as history and ethics) have malleable truths that depend on the perspective of the person or society studying them. It refutes the idea of objective knowledge, because such a thing can never be attained due to our infinitely varied way of perceiving the world.
- 15. Making conclusions based on premises that are known to be true. (Mathematics) Goes form General to Specific…Reason process produces claims which can be proven beyond a doubt, no way to argue them.
- 20. Basically just a more impressive term for ‘theory of knowledge’. Accordingly, it is used at most universities for philosophy courses that deal with ideas and thinking on the way we acquire and use knowledge.
- 23. truth test, This theory states that something is true if it works for us. It is connected to the philosophy of pragmatism, and to the key (though not necessarily the archetypal) figure of that movement, William James.
- 25. The German term for interpretivism, coined by the sociologist Max Weber.