Whitehead's Metaphysics

Definition:
                The main tenets of Whitehead's metaphysics were summarized in his most accessible work,Adventures of Ideas (1933), where he also defines his conceptions of beauty, truth, art, adventure, and peace.  He believed that "there are no whole truths; all truths are half-truths.  It is trying to treat them as whole truths that plays the devil.


Sample Sentences:

• The content of Whitehead's Metaphysics can be confusing.
• Whitehead’s metaphysics is the most advanced and sophisticated version of process philosophy.
• Whitehead's metaphysics should be seen as the flourishing of ideas.

Usage:
          Whitehead's Metaphysics
          Metanexus

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                Whitehead's metaphysics is a concept of space and time.  It also is comprised of asking questions like "Why are we here?" and "How did things start?".  It also categorizes life into phases and whether or not things exist.


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Blaise Pascal

Definition:
                  a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Christian philosopher.  He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father.


Sample Sentences:

• Pascal was a prodigious mathematician and philosopher.
• Pascal was enormously influenced by the writings of Michel de Montaigne, the great French Renaissance skeptic.
• Pascal wrote the quote "the heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing."

Usage:
          Catholic Education
          Britannica


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                Pascal was a 17th century philosopher and mathematician born in France.  Among his greatest and most well known achievements is Pascal's Triangle (shown below) where the two numbers below equal the amount that is above it.  He also wrote the Provincial Letters.


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Beckett

Definition:
                an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet, who lived in Paris for most of his adult life and wrote in both English and French

Sample Sentences:

• Beckett would see his name become synonymous with a sort of existential bleakness that fails to convey the humor and hope in his work.
• The Nobel Prize in Literature 1969 was awarded to Samuel Beckett.
Beckett wrote the quote "Let me go to hell, that's all I ask, and go on cursing them there, and them look down and hear me, that might take some of the shine off their bliss."

Usage:
           NY Times
           Britannica


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                 Beckett was a 20th Century Irish novelist and poet who would become synonymous with existentialism.  He is said to have written the most influential play in the past 100 years with "Waiting for Godot." Although he is known as being bleak, his plays and other written works inspire and show hope and humor.


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Goethe

Definition:
                 a German writer, artist, and politician.  His body of work includes epic and lyric poetry written in a variety of metres and styles; prose and verse dramas; memoirs

Sample Sentences:

• Goethe's invitation in 1775 to the court of Duke Karl August at Weimar was a turning point in the literary life of Germany.
• Goethe is the only German literary figure whose range and international standing equal those of Germany’s supreme philosophers and composers.
• Goethe once said "I love those who yearn for the impossible."
  

Usage:
           NY Times
           Britannica

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                Goethe was an 18th century German writer and politician.  He was also a lawyer and thought that self education was the opening to freedom.  He saw the beauty in thinking of different things in the world and challenging the set order.


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Maslow

Definition:
                an American psychologist who was best known for creating Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a theory of self-actualization


Sample Sentences:

• Maslow was born April 1st, 1908 in Brooklyn, New York.
• Maslow died June 8th, 1970.
• At a time when most psychologists focused aspects of human nature that were considered abnormal, Abraham Maslow shifted to focus to look at the positive sides of mental health.

Usage:
          The New Atlantis
          The Economist

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                Maslow was the first to think of the hierarchy of needs in humans.  He proposed that after the basics of food, water, and shelter, there was more to life.  This included safety, love, esteem and self-actualization.

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Sartre

Definition:
                a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer and literary critic.

Sample Sentences:

• Sartre was a supporter of existentialism.
• Sartre is arguably the best known philosopher of the twentieth century.
• Sartre was born in Paris.

Usage:
          NY Times
          Britannica
         
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                 Sartre was a French philosopher in the 20th century. He was a believer in existentialism and was als a play write, novelist, and literary critic. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature but turned it down.He believed his writing was more that just a prize.


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Hume

Definition:
                a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist, known especially for his philosophical empiricism and skepticism.  He was one of the most important figures in the history of Western philosophy and the Scottish Enlightenment.  

Sample Sentences:

• Hume is often grouped with John Locke, George Berkeley and a handful of others as a British Empiricist.
• Hume advocated a compatibility theory of free will that proved extremely influential on subsequent moral philosophy. 
• Hume has proved extremely influential on subsequent philosophy.

Usage:
          First Principles Journal
          Christian Courier

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                Hume was a Scottish skeptic and philosopher who has ended up being one of the most influential on later philosophy.  Empiricism is similar to existentialism in that they both believed in knowledge through experience.  He was the one who concluded that there can be no knowledge beyond experience.
    
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Camus

Definition:
                a French Nobel Prize winning author, journalist, and philosopher.  His views contributed to the rise of the philosophy known as absurdism.

Sample Sentences:

•  Albert Camus was a representative of non-metropolitan French literature.
•  Camus once said "don't walk behind me; I may not lead.  Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow.  Just walk beside me and be my friend."
•  Another Camus quote is "I know of only one duty, and that is to love."

Usage:
          NY Times
          The Chronicle Review

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                Albert Camus was born in France, and is a well known author.  He has won a Nobel Prize for his distinctive views on certain things.  He is also known for being a winning journalist and philosopher.  One of his main accomplishments in philosophy is his views on the topic of absurdism.  He considered his entire life mission was to appose the views of nihilism, and also to inspire induvidual freedom. 

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Solipsism

Definition:
                 the philosophical idea that only one's own mind is sure to exist

Sample Sentences:

• One of its weaknesses is its own solipsism, its own narcissism.
• Avoiding solipsism requires that we assign consciousness, or reality, to everyone we could meet who is sufficiently similar to ourselves.
• Often methodological solipsism is not held as a belief system.

Usage:
          NY Times
          Solipsism and the Problem of Other Minds


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                Solipsism is when the only thing that is for sure is your own mind.  Nothing outside that can be truly known, at least not for sure.  You are basically alone in the world without anything to help guide you or communicate with.


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Existentialism

Definition:
                the philosophical and cultural movement which holds that the starting point of philosophical thinking must be the experiences of the individual

Sample Sentences:

• Existentialism is the belief that you create your own truth through experience.
• Existentialism also studies essence versus existence and what they mean.
• Sartre has the point of view that is called atheistic existentialism.

Usage:
          NY Times
          Stanford

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                In existentialism, the whole world revolves around you as an individual.  There are other people and things, but nothing actually matters but you.  Your pain is the only pain, and your joy is the only joy.


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Materialism

Definition:
                the theory of materialism is that everything is matter or energy


Sample Sentences:

• Materialism is closely related to physicalism.
• The dragon in Grendel represents materialism.
• If rejecting materialism means destroying the property of others; then i don't understand.

Usage:
          Crown
          Buzzle


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                 Materialism is usually viewed in a negative connotation.  In society it means being cold, disconnected, and stuck up.  In reality, it is just an attachment to something physical meaning that it could be a dog, jewelry, or anything not human.

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Nietsche

Definition:
                (October 15, 1844 – August 25, 1900) - a German philosopher, poet, composer, cultural critic, and classical philologist. He wrote critical texts on religion, morality, contemporary culture, philosophy, and science, displaying a fondness for metaphor, irony and aphorism.

Sample Sentences:

• Nietzsche said "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." 
• Nietzsche wrote the quote "a great value of antiquity lies in the fact that its writings are the only ones that modern men still read with exactness".
• Nietzsche also wrote the quote "all credibility, all good conscience, all evidence of truth come only from the senses".

Usage:
          NY Times
          American Thinker


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                 Nietzsche believed that you could become your own super human just by making yourself that way.  He questioned Christianity and challenged its basis saying that people do not need a higher power to be who they want to be.  He also championed transvaluation.


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Whitehead

Definition:
                English philosopher and mathematician, in the U.S. after 1924.


Sample Sentences:

• Whitehead is best known for developing a comprehensive metaphysical theory.
• Whitehead developed a holistic philosophy of science, chiefly in process and reality.
• Whitehead was a British mathematician.

Usage:
          Britannica
          Chicago Journals

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                 Whitehead created Whiteheads metaphysics, this philosophy emerged from The Concept of Nature and it was expanded in Science and the Modern World. It was an important study of historic ideals and the role of science as well as mathematics in Western civilization. He was interested mostly in theology and as based in the Church of England, however before World War One, he considered himself agnostic which meant he was unsure of his beliefs. 

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Skepticism

Definition:
                 is generally any questioning attitude towards knowledge, facts, or opinions/beliefs stated as facts, or doubt regarding claims that are taken for granted elsewhere.

Sample Sentences:

• Skepticism is universal doubt or not believing in any values or beliefs. 
• Today people have a healthy skepticism toward those claiming to speak for God.
• Skepticism is brought up around Chapter 5 in Grendel.

Usage:
          Scientific American                     
          Skeptical Theism


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                Skepticism is simply questioning the accepted way of life. To me, this is the only way that the world can move forward and bring new ideas to the table. The picture with the dog below personifies how, if something can be questioned, it is possible that it isn't true.


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Machiavelli

Definition:
                (3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527) - was an Italian historian, politician, diplomat, philosopher, humanist and writer based in Florence during the Renaissance.


Sample Sentences:

• Machiavelli was for many years an official in the Florentine Republic, with responsibilities in diplomatic and military affairs.
• Machiavelli wrote a masterpiece called The Prince.

Usage:
           History Today
           American Thinker

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                Machiavelli was an Italian philosopher during the Renaissance.  He is known for his greatest work, The Prince which advocated the use of fear and force as a way to rule a country.  He was a militaristic thinker who found favor with the Medici family, the most powerful family in Italy.


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Monotheism

Definition:
                 the belief in the existence of one God or in the oneness of God


Sample Sentences:

• Monotheism is the belief in a single God.
• All the prophets preached Monotheism.
• Without the assumptions of biblical monotheism much that has been achieved under the influence of those assumptions may not be able to stand.

Usage:
           Memo
           Islam Religion


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                 Monotheism states that there is only one God, not multiple.  It is a doctrine that is typically more accepted than polytheism, the belief in multiple gods.  Some of these religions are Hinduism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Proto-Indo-European religion and many others. 


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Humanism

Definition:
                 An outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters.  The idea of humanism started occurring during the Renaissance cultural movement.  Human ideas, values and interests are considered to be the most important in humanism.

Sample Sentences:

• Humanism was based mainly in the European Renaissance.
• Why do we spend so much time trying to promote humanism?
• Humanism can't evaluate options with foresight and vision for progression and survival.

Usage:
           NY Times
           Contender Ministries


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                 Humanism is a philosophy where there is more stock in actual human beings and their intellect than in higher powers.  It is an ethical perspective that emphasizes the value of human beings, individually and collectively, and generally places of more importance on rational thought than strictly faith.

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Atheism

Definition:
                      the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. 


Sample Sentences:

• Atheism is accepted within some religious and spiritual belief systems.
• I do not believe in atheism.
• Atheism as 'the belief that there is no God or Gods' is a negative definition.

Usage:
           NY Times
           American Thinker


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                Atheism is considered to be a belief, not a religion.  It is a fairly new belief, compared to other religions that have been followed for thousands of years.  Typically atheists are scientists or people that are invested in research that requires evidence.  They seek a palpable truth.



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Plato's Allegory of the Cave

Definition:
                 also known as the Analogy of the Cave, Plato's Cave, or the Parable of the Cave - an allegory used by Plato in his work, to illustrate "our nature in it's education and want of education".


Sample Sentences:

• Allegory of the Cave was constructed by Plato.
• The purpose of Allegory of the Cave is to enlighten the prisoners'.
• Allegory of the Cave gives you a slight interpretation of what Plato was like in society.

Usage:
          History Guide
          Plato's Allegory

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                 The Allegory of the Cave is an analogy written by Plato to distinguish the differences of enlightenment, meaning the unenlightened and enlightened.  Before, all the prisoners sit looking at shadows and perceive them as reality.  One escapes and sees that they're not objects, but only shadows and then is killed for having that knowledge.


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Monism

Definition:
                 a point of view within metaphysics which argues that the variety of existing things in the universe are reducible to one substance or reality.  Unity = universe


Sample Sentences:

• Substance monism need not have any implications concerning God or an absolute.
• Monism isn't the same thing as Monotheism. 
• Monism is the belief that everything in the universe is made out of one element.

               
Usage:
           Philosophical Review
           BestThinking


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                 Monism is the belief that everything comes from one thing.  This means everything in the world is made out of one element including people, plants, rocks, etc.        

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Paganism

Definition:
                 a blanket term, used to refer to religious traditions that are polytheistic or indigenous

Sample Sentences:

• His mission was to convert people who believed in Paganism into the Christianity life.
• What is the ritual of Paganism?
• Paganism is different from Atheism.

Usage:
           Comparing Christianity and The New Paganism
           BBC


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                 Paganism often is used to describe any religion that is not a part of Christianity, Judaism and Islamic beliefs.  Characteristics of Paganism include: polytheism, worshipping nature and many different types of sacrifices or traditions.  Religions in some parts of Africa are considered to be "pagan".


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Christianity

Definition:
                 the religion based on the person and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, or it's beliefs and practices

Sample Sentences:

• Christianity can't be enforced in schools.
• Many Americans practice and believe in Christianity.
• Christianity is a very popular form of religion.

     
Usage:
           Psychology vs. Christianity
           NY Times


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                 Christianity is the belief that the son of God, Jesus, is the savior of the world.  He gave his life to save ours so that one day we might be able to enter Heaven.  This belief is not shared with any other religion, though others do believe in Jesus.  Christianity is represented by the cross, or crucifix, and shown below.

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Orphic Sages

Definition:
                 mystical Greek religious and philosophical cult derived from the myth of orpheus.



Sample Sentences:

• Orphic sages are the priest-like figures in ophism.
• Orphic sages would perform many mysterious rituals and ceremonies.
• Orphic sages were somewhat similar to Christianity.

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                 Orphic sages believed that life was cyclic, or repeated.  Meaning they thought there was reincarnation for afterlife.  Orphism is a Pre-Christianity religion but it has similarities to the Christian faith.  It's an monotheistic faith.  Another belief of orphism was that chaos and order have the ability to coexist in life simultaneously without conflict.


Usage:
          Philosophies in Grendel
          Late Antiquity


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