Foundational triplication
The IDM's claim that every domain has exactly three foundational concepts that span it. (Ch 3)
Functionalism
The view that mental states are defined by their functional role — what they do — rather than what they're made of. (Ch 17)
Gettier problem
Cases where someone has a justified true belief that clearly isn't knowledge, showing that
JTB is insufficient for knowledge. (Ch 4)
Greatest Happiness Principle
Bentham's formulation: the right action is the one that produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number. (Ch 8)
Hard problem of consciousness
Chalmers' question: why does brain activity come with subjective experience? Why is there something it is like to be conscious? (Ch 16, 18)
Hedonic calculus
Bentham's proposed method for calculating the total pleasure/pain produced by an action. (Ch 8)
Hume's fork
The division of knowledge into relations of ideas (certain but uninformative) and matters of fact (informative but uncertain). (Ch 6)
Idealism
The view that reality consists of ideas perceived by minds; "to be is to be perceived." (Ch 5)
Immanent modality
The perspective of being within, engaged, in-relation-with. First-person, participatory, relational. (Ch 3)
Incommensuration Theorem
The IDM's claim that knowing and understanding are categorically different and irreducible to each other. No amount of one substitutes for any amount of the other. (Ch 4, 18)
Indirect realism
The view that we perceive external objects indirectly, through mental representations (sense- data). (Ch 5)
J–K
Justified true belief (JTB)
The classical definition of knowledge: a belief that is true and for which the believer has adequate justification. (Ch 4)
Kingdom of ends
Kant's ideal community of rational beings who are both authors of and subject to the moral law. (Ch 9)
Knowing (IDM)
Third-person, structural, representational epistemic contact with reality. Contrasted with understanding. (Ch 4, 18)
L–M
Mastery of causation
Humanity's development of the capacity to understand and manipulate cause-and-effect: fire, agriculture, science, technology. (Ch 1)
Mastery of change
Humanity's earliest relationship with reality: indigenous wisdom, ecological attunement, flow. (Ch 1)
Mastery of choice
The civilisational challenge now facing humanity: developing the wisdom to choose well given the power of causation. (Ch 1)
Multiple realisability
The observation that the same mental state can be realised in different physical substrates. An objection to type identity theory. (Ch 17)
Need (IDM)
A drive that originates and is resolved inside the self (biological, physiological). Non- negotiable. (Ch 21)
Non-relativistic ethics
The IDM's claim that symmetry and continuity are ethical principles that hold in every context, not relative to culture or preference. (Ch 11)
Omniscient modality
The perspective from which a domain is perceived externally, structurally, completely. Third- person, objective. (Ch 3)
Ontological argument
The argument for God's existence from the concept of God alone: the greatest conceivable being must exist. (Ch 13)
Path of right action
The IDM's framework for effective choice-making, consisting of three theorems: (1) a win-win choice always exists, (2) win-win choices are adjacent, (3) the direction toward the path is always sensible. (Ch 11)
Phronesis
Practical wisdom — Aristotle's master virtue. The capacity to perceive what a specific situation requires. (Ch 10)
Plane of perception
In the IDM, the conceptual boundary between self and world. Perception flows inward through it; expression flows outward. (Ch 21)
Primary qualities
In Locke's theory, properties that belong to objects themselves: size, shape, motion, solidity. (Ch 5)
Property dualism
The view that mental properties are real but irreducible to physical properties. (Ch 16)
Q–R
Qualia
The subjective, experiential properties of mental states — what it's like to have an experience. (Ch 16, 17, 18)
Rationalism
The view that the most fundamental knowledge comes from reason alone, independent of experience. (Ch 6)
Risk cascading
The exponential multiplication of externalised risks as they interact with each other. (Ch 19)
Rule utilitarianism
The version of utilitarianism that evaluates rules (rather than individual actions) by their consequences. (Ch 8)
Secondary qualities
In Locke's theory, properties that exist only in the perceiver's experience: colour, taste, sound. (Ch 5)
Sense-data
In indirect realism, the mental representations through which we perceive external objects. (Ch 5)
Sound (argument)
An argument that is both valid and has true premises. (Ch 2)
Substance dualism
The view that mind and body are two fundamentally different kinds of substance. (Ch 16)
Symmetry (IDM)
Sameness of content where there is difference of context. One of the two core ethical principles. (Ch 11)
Synthetic a priori
In Kant, truths that are informative about the world (synthetic) but known independently of experience (a priori). (Ch 6)
Tabula rasa
Locke's view that the mind at birth is a "blank slate" — no innate ideas. (Ch 6)
Teleological argument
The argument from design: the natural world exhibits order and complexity that imply an intelligent designer. (Ch 13)
Three masteries
The IDM's historical framework: mastery of change (indigenous), mastery of causation (scientific/technological), mastery of choice (the present challenge). (Ch 1)
Transcendent modality
The perspective from which a domain is created, originated, generated. Generative, beyond- the-frame. (Ch 3)
Type identity theory
The view that mental states are identical to brain states (e.g., pain = C-fibre firing). (Ch 17)
Type isomorphism
The IDM's claim that the pattern of relationships among any foundational triple is the same across all domains. (Ch 3)
Understanding (IDM)
First-person, participatory, interactive epistemic contact with reality. Contrasted with knowing. (Ch 4, 18)
Universalizability
Kant's test: an action is morally permissible only if its maxim could be willed as a universal law. (Ch 9)
Valid (argument)
An argument whose conclusion follows logically from its premises — if the premises were true, the conclusion would have to be true. (Ch 2)
Veil of perception
The sceptical worry that if we only perceive sense-data, we're trapped behind a "veil" with no direct access to external objects. (Ch 5)
Virtue ethics
The ethical tradition that focuses on character (virtue) rather than rules (deontology) or consequences (consequentialism). (Ch 10)
W–Z
Want (IDM)
A drive that originates and is resolved outside the self — in the external world. Transactional, substitutable. (Ch 21)
Win-win choice
A choice that genuinely serves all parties. The first theorem of the path of right action claims such a choice always exists. (Ch 11)
Zombie (philosophical)
A being physically identical to a human but with no subjective experience. If zombies are conceivable, consciousness is not entailed by physical properties alone. (Ch 16)
Additional Key Terms
Abductive reasoning
See main entry above. Also called inference to the best explanation. (Ch 2)
Adverbial theory
The view that perception is a way of sensing (sensing redly) rather than perception of a mental object (a red sense-datum). (Ch 5)
Analytic truth
A statement true by virtue of the meanings of its terms. "All bachelors are unmarried."
Contrasted with synthetic. (Ch 6)
Anthropic principle
The observation that we can only exist in a universe whose constants permit our existence, so we necessarily observe fine-tuning. (Ch 13)
Argument
In philosophy, a structured chain of reasoning: premises leading to a conclusion. Not a quarrel. (Ch 2)
Bandwidth argument (IDM)
The claim that the complexity of planetary-scale problems exceeds the bandwidth of any governance system humans have built. (Ch 19)
Burden of proof
The principle that the person making a positive claim bears the responsibility of providing evidence for it. (Ch 2)
Categorical imperative
Kant's supreme moral principle: act only according to maxims you could will to be universal laws. Three formulations: universalisability, humanity, kingdom of ends. (Ch 9)
Causal closure of the physical
The principle that every physical event has a sufficient physical cause, leaving no room for non-physical mental causation. (Ch 16)
Causal theory of perception
The view that external objects cause perceptual experiences through a causal chain (object → light → eye → nerve → brain → experience). (Ch 5)
Conceivability-possibility principle
The principle that if something can be clearly and distinctly conceived, it is genuinely possible. Central to Descartes' argument for dualism. (Ch 16)
Copernican revolution (Kant)
Kant's reversal: instead of knowledge conforming to objects, objects conform to our knowledge. The mind structures experience rather than passively receiving it. (Ch 6)
Deductive reasoning
Reasoning from general principles to specific conclusions. If the premises are true and the logic valid, the conclusion is guaranteed. (Ch 2)
Divine command theory
The view that moral goodness is defined by God's commands. Faces the Euthyphro dilemma. (Ch 13)
Doctrine of the mean
Aristotle's view that each virtue is a mean between two vices — one of excess and one of deficiency. (Ch 10)
Epiphenomenalism
The view that mental states are real but causally inert — they are caused by physical events but don't cause anything themselves. (Ch 16)
Eudaimonia
Aristotle's term for human flourishing or living well — the ultimate aim of ethical life. Often translated as "happiness" but better understood as "thriving." (Ch 10)
Euthyphro dilemma
Is something good because God commands it, or does God command it because it's good? Either horn undermines divine command theory. (Ch 13)
Explanatory gap
Joseph Levine's term for the gap between physical descriptions of brain states and subjective experience. Physical descriptions explain function, not qualitative character. (Ch 16)
Falsificationism
Karl Popper's view that a theory is scientific not because it can be confirmed but because it can be falsified — shown to be false by evidence. (Ch 6)
False equivalence
The fallacy of presenting two positions as equally credible when the evidence overwhelmingly supports one. Common in media "balance." (Ch 2)
Fine-tuning argument
The teleological argument from the observation that fundamental physical constants are calibrated within narrow ranges necessary for life. (Ch 13)
Forms of intuition (Kant)
Space and time — the frameworks the mind imposes on sensory data. Not features of reality- in-itself but conditions under which experience is possible. (Ch 6)
Hedonic calculus
Bentham's method for calculating total pleasure/pain, using seven dimensions: intensity, duration, certainty, propinquity, fecundity, purity, extent. (Ch 8)
Hume's fork
The division of all knowledge into relations of ideas (certain but uninformative) and matters of fact (informative but uncertain). (Ch 6)
Hypothetical imperative
A command conditional on having a particular desire: "If you want X, do Y." Contrasted with the categorical imperative. (Ch 9)
Incommensuration Theorem (IDM)
Knowing and understanding are incommensurable — neither can be converted into or substituted for the other. All knowledge without understanding is empty; all understanding without knowledge is blind. (Ch 3)
Inductive reasoning
Reasoning from specific observations to general conclusions. Probable but never certain. (Ch 2)
Kingdom of ends
Kant's third formulation: a community of free, rational beings who treat each other as ends, governed by principles they all freely endorse. (Ch 9)
Multiple realisability
The observation that the same mental state can be realised in different physical substrates.
Used against type identity theory. (Ch 17)
Noumenal world (Kant)
Reality as it is in itself, independent of our perception. Permanently inaccessible to human knowledge. Contrasted with phenomenal world. (Ch 6)
Overdetermination
The view that some events have both physical and mental causes simultaneously. A response to the interaction problem. (Ch 16)
Panpsychism
The view that consciousness is a fundamental feature of reality, present in some form in all matter. Avoids the hard problem but faces the combination problem. (Ch 17)
Paradigm shift (Kuhn)
A revolutionary change in the basic framework through which scientists understand the world. Not a logical progression but a gestalt switch. (Ch 6)
Perfect and imperfect duties
Kant's distinction between absolute prohibitions (perfect: never lie, never murder) and positive obligations with latitude (imperfect: develop talents, help others). (Ch 9)
Phenomenal world (Kant)
The world as it appears to us, structured by the mind's categories and forms of intuition. The only world we can know. (Ch 6)
Phenomenalism
The view that physical objects are "permanent possibilities of sensation" — statements about objects are disguised statements about possible experiences. (Ch 5)
Phronesis
Practical wisdom. Aristotle's master virtue: the capacity to perceive what the right thing to do is in a particular situation. Acquired through experience. (Ch 10)
Poverty of the stimulus
Chomsky's argument that children learn language faster than the data they receive can explain, suggesting innate linguistic structures. (Ch 6)
Primary qualities
Properties that belong to the object itself (size, shape, motion, solidity). Contrasted with secondary qualities. (Ch 5)
Principle of charity
When evaluating someone's argument, always interpret it in its strongest possible form before criticising it. (Ch 2)
Principle of Sufficient Reason
Leibniz's principle that nothing exists without a sufficient reason for its existence. Grounds one form of the cosmological argument. (Ch 6, 13)
Problem of induction
Hume's argument that inductive reasoning cannot be rationally justified — the assumption that the future will resemble the past is itself unjustifiable. (Ch 6)
Rule utilitarianism
The version of utilitarianism that evaluates rules rather than individual actions. Follow the rule that, if generally followed, would maximise happiness. (Ch 8)
Secondary qualities
Properties that exist only in the perceiver's experience (colour, taste, smell, sound).
Contrasted with primary qualities. (Ch 5)
Supervenience
The relation where any change in mental properties requires a change in physical properties, but the identity may not hold in reverse. (Ch 16)
Synthetic a priori (Kant)
Truths that are informative about the world (synthetic) but known independently of experience (a priori). "Every event has a cause." Kant's crucial innovation. (Ch 6)
Synthetic truth
A statement that adds new information not contained in its concepts. "The cat is on the mat."
Contrasted with analytic. (Ch 6)
Tabula rasa
Locke's "blank slate" — the view that the mind at birth contains no innate ideas; all knowledge comes from experience. (Ch 6)
Trolley problem
A thought experiment testing whether it's permissible to divert a trolley to kill one person to save five. Reveals tensions in utilitarian reasoning. (Ch 8)
Numbers refer to chapters. Terms appear in boldface on first use in each chapter.
a posteriori
6 a priori
6 abductive reasoning
2 adverbial theory
5 analytic
6 anger
21 anthropic principle
13 argument
2 attunement
bandwidth argument
19 basal motivations
Beauty
11 belonging
22 burden of proof
categorical imperative
9 categories of understanding
6 category mistake
17 causal closure of the physical
16 causal theory of perception
5 causation
1,
Celebration
22 change
Chinese Nation
17 choice
1 combination problem
17 Communities are based on relationships of care.
20 computational theory of mind
17 conceivability-possibility principle
Continuity
Copernican revolution in philosophy
6 cosmological argument
13 critical realism