Glossary

• analogy

  Likening something to something else in order to bring out the meaning of the original. Aquinas believes that religious language is always analogical. When we say ’God is good’, it is an analogy for the transcendent and overwhelming goodness of God, which we cannot properly comprehend.
• absolute ethics

  An ethical theory such as Kantianism which argues that x should always be done, regardless of circumstance.
• deontological ethics

  Any ethical theory which argues that the rightness of an act lies in doing the right thing because it is the right thing in itself – regardless of any consequences.
• divine command theory

  The theory that something is right simply because God commands it. Often contrasted with the belief that God commands what is right, Divine Command theory was rejected by Aquinas, Luther and many others.
• eudaimonia

  There is no exact translation of this Greek term, the goal of Aristotle’s virtues ethics.  It is commonly translated as ‘flourishing’ or ‘happiness’ and has elements of both.
• final cause

  Aristotle’s concept of purpose – that for which a thing exists. For Aristotle, the universe is entirely purposive.
• meta ethics

  Considers the meaning and justification of ethics. Normative ethics attempts to show how we should live, while meta ethics considers the meaning of terms such as ‘good’ and ‘right’.
• normative ethics

  Ethical theories which inform people how they should act.
• subjectivism

  The ethical view that the right-making feature of an ethical utterance is that I have chosen it. There is no other criterion. The view is found especially in the views of existentialists, notably Jean-Paul Sartre.
• teleological ethics

  Any ethical theory – such as Utilitarianism – which argues the goodness or badness of an action according to its consequences.

   
• utilitarianism

  A teleological (consequentialist) ethical philosophy which attempts to resolve the issue of dilemma in choices by offering the single principle that we should seek always the greatest balance of good over evil.
• omnipotence

  'All-powerful'. This is normally understood in relation to God, meaning that he can do anything logically possible. To say that God could not make square circles would be logically impossible, and thus would not limit God.
• omnipresence

  The belief that God is everywhere, at all times, and everything is present to God.
• omniscience

  ‘All-knowing’. The belief that God knows everything including the truth of every possible true proposition.
• apophatic way

  Also known as via negativa, argues that as human language is wholly inadequate to describe God, we can speak of him only in terms of what he is not. Associated with Proclus, John Scotus Eriugena and Moses Maimonides, among others.
• cataphatic way

  Also known as via positiva, which believes that despite the obvious limitations of human language, something positive can be said about God and his nature. St. Thomas Aquinas supports this view.
• a posteriori

  That which can be known to be true only through sense experience. ‘There is a cat in this room’ can only be determined to be true by observation, directly or indirectly.
• a priori

  That which is knowable without reference to sense experience. The truth of ‘A square has fours sides’ or ‘2 + 2 = 4’, follows from the definition of the terms, not from knowledge of things in the world. A priori does not mean ‘innate’.
• cognitive language

  Language about which it is appropriate to ask whether it is true or false. ‘Cognitive’ is not a synonym for ‘true’. ‘Paris is the capital of Vietnam’ is cognitive but false. 
• applied ethics

  The application of ethics to real-world problems. It studies philosophical problems of practical concern.
• consequentialism

  The idea that right and wrong is based on the outcome or consequences of actions.
• falsification

  Devised by Karl Popper as a criterion of demarcation between the scientific and non-scientific. It argues that science advances by proving theories false and devising better ones.
• verification

  Devised by the Vienna Circle, argues that any proposition which is not a tautology or not empirically verifiable is meaningless. The strong verification principle demanded conclusive verification, but as this ruled out all science (as no sense experience can ever be conclusively proven), later verificationists, notably A.J. Ayer, substituted weak verification, which demands only that one needed to state what experience would make the truth of the proposition probable.
• symbol

  Something which represents something else. For Paul Tillich, religious language consists of symbols (including the words we use), which do not merely represent God but participate in His reality.
• efficient cause

  In Aristotle’s cosmology, that which brings something about. The sculptor is the efficient cause in the making of a statue.
• materialism

  The belief that the only existents are physical beings.
• Forms

  Plato’s theory that everything on earth is an inferior copy of Ideal Forms in a permanent spiritual reality. Thus there are forms not only of objects such as tables and chairs, but also of concepts such as number or beauty. The highest form is the Form of the Good.
• Big Bang Theory

  The theory that the universe was the result of an initial explosion from a singularity. Red shift gives evidence for this initial explosion. It should not be confused with evolutionary theory.
• Darwinism

  The argument, developed principally by Charles Darwin, that living beings evolve (randomly) through adaptation and natural selection. 
• disembodied existence

  Purely spiritual existence, usually post-mortem.
• formal cause

  For Aristotle, that which gives things its structure – this material is a table because it has the form (shape and characteristics) of a table.
• free will

  The ability to decide choices freely without that choice being predetermined. Involves responsibility for those choices.
• material cause

  For Aristotle, the stuff or substance necessary for something to be. This is a table because the stuff of the table exists.
• monism

  The belief that there is no body/soul distinction and the two are one entity.
• natural evil

  Evil found in nature, such as plagues, earthquakes, hurricanes etc. Sometimes referred to as suffering, this is evil which is not the consequence of specific human action.
• Natural Law

  ‘Right reason in accordance with nature’. This believes that by reason alone we can determine which actions are good or bad for human flourishing. 
• non-cognitive language

  Language about which it is inappropriate to ask whether it is true or false. This includes, for instance, such things as prayers, curses, poetry etc.
• reincarnation

  The soul moves on death into a new and different body.
• relativist ethics

  -this holds that there are no moral absolutes and every judgement is relative to such things as culture and circumstance

  -this should not be confused with Situation Ethics, which does believe in the moral absolute of always doing the loving thing (Fletcher) or requires that one must in every circumstance will what is right (Temple), while being situational in application
• resurrection

  The belief that after death we are raised body and soul to new life. This is the belief of mainstream Christianity.