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Select Page: A to B -- C to D -- E to H -- I to L -- M to O -- P to Q -- R -- S to Z Select Letter: - E - | - F - | - G - | - H - |
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Eduction. A process of immediate inference whereby, from any proposition taken as true, we derive others implied in it, though differing from the first in subject, predicate, or both. Effect. That which is produced. Efficient Cause. The agent which actively produces a thing or a new state in a thing. Ego. The human person, considered as possessing a body and mind; the subject of all psychical states, such as perception, thought, judgment, affective and volitional states; self. Ego, Absolute. The non-individual, pure Ego, neither subject nor object, which posits the world. Ego, Empirical. The self or Ego as observed at any present moment in a here-and-now experience. Ego, Historical. The self or Ego of an individual as he perceives it through memory of his life's experiences from the present down through the past. Ego, Metaphysical. The self or Ego considered in its constitution and nature. Emergent Evolution. See Evolution, Emergent. Emotion. An affective mental state of the animal organism, following the cognition of an object or situation, characterized by strong feeling, by an impulse to action, and by physiological changes in bodily function. Empiricism. The doctrine which denies or doubts the validity of all intellectual knowledge and admits only the certainty of sense-knowledge. End (Purpose). That for the sake of which an agent or efficient cause acts. See Cause, Final. End for Which (Whom). The thing or person that is to benefit by the acquisition or realization of the "end which" is acquired or realized. End, Intermediate. An end to which one or more ends are referred, and which is itself referred to some ulterior end. End, Natural. An end which lies within the tendencies and powers of the nature of the agent to strive for. End of the Act. The purpose which is present in the act itself and which the act tends to realize because it is this particular kind of act. End of the Agent. The purpose which the agent itself (himself) has in performing this particular act. End, Primary (Principal). The main end or purpose among two or more which actuates an agent and is sufficient of itself to make the agent act. End, Proximate. The end that is referred to some ulterior end, but has no other end referred to itself. End, Remote. An end to which one or more other ends are referred. End, Secondary (Accessory). An end intended together with a primary end, without, however, exerting the same potent influence on the action of the agent. End, Supernatural. An end which lies beyond the tendencies and powers of the nature of an agent to strive for. End, Ultimate. An end which has one or more ends referred to itself, while it is not itself referred to any other end. End Which. The good itself which is striven for as an end to be realized through the action of a cause. Energy, Kinetic. Energy of motion. Energy, Potential. Energy of position. Enthymeme. An abridged syllogism, in which one of the premises or the conclusion is omitted. Epichireme. A syllogism in which the proof is conjoined to one of the premises. Epiphenomenalism. The theory that consciousness is an accompaniment or by-product of neural processes, determined by them but exerting no influence upon them, so that it is but an "epiphenomenon" of matter, matter being the real phenomenon. Epistemology. The science of the validity, or truth-value, of knowledge. Equipollence. See Obversion. Equivocal Term. A term that is used in entirely different meanings. Equivocation, Fallacy of. A fallacy which consists in using a word in different meanings. Error. Disconformity (disagreement) between intellect and thing. Essence. The act of actuality which perfects and determines a thing in its species; that which makes a thing to be what it is. Essence, Metaphysical. The sum of the various grades of being which constitute a thing in the abstract concepts of the mind. Essence, Physical. An essence as it exists concretely in nature, independent of the mind's thinking. Essential. Belonging to the essence or nature of a thing. Essential Definition. A statement which explains the essence or nature of a thing. Synonym: Quidditative. Essential Proposition. See Analytic proposition. Evidence, Circumstantial. Those relevant circumstances or facts which enable us to draw legitimate inferences to some principal fact, which fact then explains the existence and presence of these relevant circumstances or facts. Evidence, Objective. That characteristic of reality whereby it becomes objectively manifest to the perceiving faculty. Evil. Something that is unsuitable for a natural tendency or appetency. The privation of a required good. Evil, Absolute. The privation of an absolute good. Evil, Apparent. The privation of an apparent good. Evil, Moral. The privation of the proper relation between an action or its omission and the moral law. Evil, Objective. The privation of an objective good. Evil, Ontological. The privation of an ontological good. Evil, Physical. The privation of a physical good. Evil, Real. The privation of a real good. Evil, Relative. The privation of a relative good. Evil, Subjective. The privation of a subjective good. Evolution, Emergent. The doctrine which holds that nature is the product of evolution in such a manner that entirely new and unpredictable properties originate through synthesis and thereby form new and higher levels of reality. Evolutionism. In the problem of necessary judgments, it is the doctrine which holds that the necessity of these judgments is due to certain fixed forms of thought which have been engendered in the past history of the human race and have been transmitted by heredity through a process of neural association repeated with countless frequency. Exceptive. An exceptive proposition is one which contains a particle of speech like "except" or "save," to indicate that a portion of the extension of the predicate does not apply to the subject, or vice versa. Excluded Middle, Principle of. A thing either is or is not. Everything must either be or not be. Between "being" and "not-being" there is no middle or third thing possible. Exclusive Proposition. A statement which indicates the exclusion of any other predicate from this subject or any other subject from this predicate. Existence. That state of a being in virtue of which it is present as an actuality and not merely as a possibility, distinct from the mind and, if it be a produced being, distinct from its producing cause. Existential Import. The implication of existence contained in a judgment. Experiment. The observation of phenomena under selective and controlled conditions. Extension. The sum total of all the individuals and groups to which any idea can be applied. Synonyms: Denotation, application. Extra-Syllogistic Inference. Certain forms of mediate inference which follow the general line of thought characteristic of the syllogistic figures, but do not seem to conform to the basic idea of these figures.
F Faculty. The quality in an entity which makes it capable of performing certain acts even when these acts are not actually performed. Fallacies in Language. Fallacies which rest upon the lack of preciseness in the words used to express thoughts. Fallacies in the Matter. Fallacies which are the result of confusion in the matter or things stated. Fallacy. An error or argumentation, based on the use of words or ideas which have a deceptive resemblance to truth and thereby lead to avoidable false conclusions. False Cause, Fallacy of. A fallacy which assigns a wrong cause to a certain effect. Falsity (Error). Disconformity (disagreement) between intellect and thing. Falsity, Logical. The disagreement of the intellect with the thing. Falsity, Moral. The disagreement of speech with thought. Falsity, Ontological. The disagreement of a thing with the intellect. Feeling. An elementary affective state characterized by pleasantness or unpleasantness. Fictionalism. The doctrine which holds that all concepts are fictions of the mind and have fictional value as mental constructions of reality, though they need not be true in themselves. Fideism. The traditional doctrine which holds that all our knowledge must begin with an act of faith in divine revelation, since human reason is impotent to arrive at any certitude regarding the fundamental truths necessary for man to know; also, the doctrine that such truths can be known only by an affective act of faith. Figure. The geometrical quality resulting in a body from the arrangement of its quantitative parts. Figure, Syllogistic. The disposition or arrangement of the middle term with respect to the major and minor terms in the premises of a syllogism. Figures of Speech, Fallacy of. A fallacy in which a conclusion of identity or similarity in meaning is drawn between one diction and another, due to their similarity of construction. Final Cause. The purpose or aim which induces the efficient cause to act and directs this action throughout its operation. Final Cause, Extrinsic. A cause whose causal action is impressed upon it by some outside directive force. Final Cause, Intrinsic. A cause whose action producing a definite effect is the result of a being's natural tendencies. First Intention, Universal of the. See Direct universal. Fixed Terms. Terms whose signification remains the same. Form. The physical quality resulting in a body from the arrangement of its quantitative parts. Formal Cause. The inner, active part of the produced thing which is the determining element of the new (caused) reality in the produced thing. Formalism. In the problem of necessary judgments, the theory which holds that the necessity of judgments is due to native a priori mental forms. Formal Supposition. The use of a term according to its signification. Free Will. The ability of the will, all conditions for action being present, to decide whether to act or not act and whether to act in this manner or in that manner. Freedom. In the widest sense, the absence of external coercion or restraint which hinders an appetency from expressing itself in external action; in the strict sense, the absence of intrinsic necessity or determination in the performance of an act. Freedom of Contrariety. The freedom of the will to choose between a moral good and a moral evil. Freedom of Exercise. The freedom of the will between acting and not acting; freedom of contradiction. Freedom of Indifference. The freedom of the will in so far s it is subjectively indifferent in the presence of conflicting motives; freedom of choice. Freedom of Specification. The freedom of the will to choose between one object and another object and therefore also between one act of the will and another act of the will.
G Generation. A substantial change which brings a new substance into being through the corruption of another or others. Genetic Definition. A statement which explains a thing by its process of origin or production. Genus. A predicable or universal idea which expresses a part of the essence of its subject, that part which the subject has in common with other species in this same class. Good. Any reality which suits the nature of the being which strives for it. Good, Absolute. Anything which is suitable to a being itself, irrespective of other beings. Good, Apparent. Something that is judged to be good for a being, but is actually not good for it. Good, Delectable. A relative good which gives pleasure and enjoyment to another. Good, Disinterested. A good considered merely as giving perfection, irrespective of any pleasure derived from its possession. Good, Metaphysical. See Good, Ontological. Good, Moral. A good which has everything demanded of it by the moral law. Good, Objective. Anything that is good in itself. Good, Ontological. A thing as good in its every entity or reality. Good, Physical. A good which satisfies the demand of the nature of a being. Good, Real. Something that is judged to be good for a being and actually is good for it. Good, Relative. Anything which is suitable to another. Good, Subjective. The actual possession of an objective good. Good, Transcendental. See Good, Ontological. Good, Useful. A relative good which is desired as a means to acquire perfection or pleasure. Goodness. The suitability of a thing for a natural tendency or appetency.
H Habit. As a quality, it is a comparatively permanent accident disposing a thing well or ill in its being. Habit, Objective. A stable quality disposing a being ill or well in the operations of its faculties. Habitus. The condition resulting from clothing, equipment, physical adjuncts, environment; or a condition or state, as expressed by the reflexive verb. Humanism. See Pragmatism. Hylopsychism. The doctrine which holds that all matter is instinct with something of the cognitive function; that every objective event has that self-transcending implication of other events which, when it occurs on the scale that it does in our brain processes, we call consciousness. Hypostasis (Suppositum). A complete and individual substance which has subsistence, i.e., a substance which is self-contained and autonomous (sui juris) in its operations. Hypothesis. The provisional explanation of a phenomenon, based on probable arguments, until verified (or disproved) by subsequent events. Hypothesis of Cause. A hypothesis which is used to establish the cause or causes which contribute toward the production of a phenomenon. Hypothesis of Law. A hypothesis which is used in an attempt to explain the manner in which the causes of a phenomenon operate. Hypothetical Proposition. A proposition that expresses the dependence of one affirmation or denial on another affirmation or denial. Sometimes it is applied to the conditional proposition alone. Hypothetical Syllogism. A syllogism in which a hypothetical proposition occurs as the major premise. |
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