Philosophy
Filosofia · 242 articles · Principal contributors · All subjectsParticular Problems and Topics (Problemi e argomenti particolari)
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Absolute (ASSOLUTO)
ABSOLUTE. - A word derived from the Latin "absolutus," which corresponds, in part of its meaning, to the Greek terms ὅλος and τέλειος, and… -
Abstract, Abstraction (ASTRATTO, ASTRAZIONE)
ABSTRACT, ABSTRACTION. - 1. In general, "a." is the qualification of mental contents, the universal ideas or concepts (v.), as opposed to… -
Absurd (ASSURDO)
ABSURD. - From the Latin absurdus, which in its proper sense had the same value as absonus (from the privative ab and sonus, sound), out of… -
Acatalectic (ACATALESSIA)
ACATALECTIC. - From the Greek ἀκαταληψία (a priv. and καταλαμβάνειν, percipio, comprehendo), it is the impossibility of apprehending the… -
Accident (ACCIDENTE)
ACCIDENT. - Etymologically a. (from Lat. accidere = to happen; Gk. συμβεβηκός) is that which can be said of something but not necessarily… -
Acosmism (ACOSMISMO)
ACOSMISM. - This name was used (by Hegel) to designate Spinoza's philosophical system concerning the nature and origins of the universe,… -
Act and Potency (ATTO E POTENZA)
ACT AND POTENCY. - The doctrine of a. and p., with the principles and applications deriving from it, constitutes the characteristic and the… -
Actualism (ATTUALISMO)
ACTUALISM. - It is the form of idealism (v.) that Giovanni Gentile proposed and that, more than the other forms, spread in Italy. It is… -
Ad Hominem, Argument (AD HOMINEM, ARGOMENTO)
AD HOMINEM, ARGUMENT. - A form of indirect argument, by which one concludes against an opponent starting from his own assertions and… -
Aestheticism (ESTETISMO)
AESTHETICISM. - It is a designation, with fluctuating boundaries, of a way of feeling and thinking that subordinates reality and the values… -
Aesthetics (ESTETICA)
AESTHETICS. - Science of the beautiful and of art. SUMMARY: I. Meaning of the term. - II. Historical synthesis. - III. The problems of a.… -
A Fortiori (understood Ratione) (A FORTIORI (SOTTINTESO RATIONE))
A FORTIORI (with ratione understood). - All the more reason. One of the forms of the argument from analogy. It occurs when from a certain… -
Agnosticism (AGNOSTICISMO)
AGNOSTICISM. - It is the spiritual attitude of one who suspends his judgment on the existence and nature of the Absolute and of the… -
Alexandrinism (ALESSANDRISMO)
ALEXANDRINISM. - A philosophical current inspired by the interpretation that Alexander of Aphrodisias (v.) gave of Aristotle's thought,… -
Analogy (ANALOGIA)
ANALOGY. - Etymologically (from the Greek ἀνά "above" and λόγος "discourse, reason") analogy suggests the idea of a relation between two… -
Analysis and Synthesis (ANALISI E SINTESI)
ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS. - A. (Gr. ἀνάλυσις from ἀναλύειν, synonymous with ἀνάγειν = resolvere) and s. (Gr. σύνθεσις from συν-τίθημι =… -
Analytics (ANALITICA)
ANALYTICS. - Term derived from analysis. In Aristotle, the Analytics (Prior and Posterior) are the names of the two books of logic that… -
Animal (ANIMALE)
ANIMAL. - 1. IN NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS. - In all natural religions, whether primitive or evolved, a cult has been paid to certain animal… -
Animation (ANIMAZIONE)
ANIMATION. - I. WHAT BIOLOGY SAYS. - The philosophical and theological problem of animation, that is, the identification of the moment at… -
Anthropomorphism (ANTROPOMORFISMO)
ANTHROPOMORPHISM. - A. (from the Greek ἄνθρωπος "man," and μορφή "form") is generally the tendency of man to project himself onto the… -
Antinomy (ANTINOMIA)
ANTINOMY. - From the Greek ἀντινομία (ἀντί against, νόμος law) it is the contradiction or inconsistency of a law, which gives rise to… -
Antithesis (ἈΝΤΊΘΕΣΙΣ) (ANTITESI (ἈΝΤΊΘΕΣΙΣ))
ANTITHESIS (ἈΝΤΊΘΕΣΙΣ). - Opposition of meaning between two notions or judgments. The terminology is Aristotle's, in whose works… -
Apperception (APPERCEZIONE)
APPERCEPTION. - Term that came into use with Leibniz (v.), who, by distinguishing between perception and apperception, claimed to avoid the… -
Apprehension (APPRENSIONE)
APPREHENSION. - In philosophical language, chiefly Scholastic, a. (from ad-prehendere, to take, to grasp) designates, in a broad sense,… -
A Priori and A Posteriori (A PRIORI E A POSTERIORI)
A PRIORI and A POSTERIORI. - Technical expressions of philosophical language, of varied meaning. Their origin goes back to Aristotle, who… -
Apriorism (APRIORISMO)
APRIORISM. - A philosophical term derived from the expression a priori. In its most common meaning today, it designates any method of study… -
Archetypal Idea (IDEA ARCHETIPA)
ARCHETYPAL IDEA. - This designation refers to the supreme and primordial logical form of all things. Philosophers and theologians speak of… -
Aristotelianism (ARISTOTELISMO)
ARISTOTELIANISM. - 1. MEDIEVAL A. - An event of primary importance in the development of medieval thought, destined to produce first-rate… -
Assent (ASSENSO)
ASSENT. - An essential moment of judgment (v.), consisting in the act by which the mind adheres to a proposition, that is, affirms the… -
Association of Ideas (IDEE, ASSOCIAZIONE DELLE)
ASSOCIATION OF IDEAS. - It is the fact that the images of consciousness, like ideas and cognitive contents in general, present themselves… -
Atomism (ATOMISMO)
ATOMISM. - Philosophical and scientific theory that resolves reality into an aggregate of indivisible primary elements, called atoms (from… -
Attention (ATTENZIONE)
ATTENTION. - I. PHILOSOPHY. - From the Latin ad and tendere, it is the convergence or direction of consciousness (v.) upon some object of… -
Attribute (ATTRIBUTO)
ATTRIBUTE. - In grammar it is an accidental element of the proposition and can be a pronoun, a numeral, a participle and, more often, an… -
Autocitisi (Autos 'Self' and Ktisis 'Creation') (AUTOCITISI (ΑΥ̓ΤΌΣ «STESSO» E ΚΤΊΣΙΣ «CREAZIONE»))
AUTOCITISI (Autos 'Self' and Ktisis 'Creation'). - Self-creation, positing of oneself. The word goes back to B. Spaventa; the concept is… -
Autonomy (AUTONOMIA)
AUTONOMY. - From the Greek αὐτονομία, it is, in general, the faculty of governing oneself by one's own laws. I. SOCIAL AUTONOMY. - The… -
Averroism (AVERROISMO)
AVERROISM. - From the second half of the 13th century through the whole of the 16th, those who, in the controversies over Aristotle's… -
Axiom (Ἀξίωμα, from ἀξιόω «I esteem, judge well») (ASSIOMA (ἈΞΊΩΜΑ, DA ἈΞΊΩ «STIMO, GIUDICO BENE»))
AXIOM (Ἀξίωμα, from ἀξιόω «I esteem, judge well»). - In the sense current today, an axiom is a general principle of immediate evidence that… -
Becoming (DIVENIRE)
BECOMING. - In the strict sense it is the coming into being of a being or of any of its determinations, as opposed to perishing or falling… -
Behavior (COMPORTAMENTO)
BEHAVIOR. - It may be defined as the practical attitude that the animal and man assume in the concrete situations of life. It therefore… -
Being, Entity (ENTE, ESSERE)
BEING, ENTITY. - In ordinary language they can be synonyms. In philosophical reflection they are usually taken as concrete and abstract:… -
Body (CORPO)
BODY. - In general, a body is a sensible material reality. In experimental science, a body is a portion of matter with determinate specific… -
Case (CASO)
CASE. - Those rare events are attributed to chance which, although unforeseen and unforeseeable, nevertheless display a certain finalistic… -
Category (CATEGORIA)
CATEGORY. - Originally it was the "accusation," that is, the judicial action opposed to "apology," according to Aristotle (Rhet., I, 3,… -
Catharsis (CATARSI)
CATHARSIS. - Greek word (κάθαρσις, synonym καθαρμός), meaning "purification", which, originally proper to religious language, was used by… -
Cause (CAUSA)
CAUSE. - I. NOTION. - According to the most reliable etymology, the first scientific application of the concept of c. would have been in… -
Certainty (CERTEZZA)
CERTAINTY. - From cernere, to sift, to discern, certainty is, in the proper sense, the mental state of firm adherence to a proposition. St.… -
Cogitativa
COGITATIVA. - In Thomist psychology the c. is that one among the internal senses which collaborates most directly with the intellect; and… -
Common Sense (SENSO COMUNE)
COMMON SENSE. - The expression has two principal meanings in philosophy, one psychological, the other epistemological. In psychology,… -
Compound (COMPOSTO)
COMPOUND. - A compound is that reality in which parts can be distinguished. It can be an aggregate of several ontologically distinct and… -
Concept (CONCETTO)
CONCEPT. - Etymologically from concipere, cum-capere, to conceive, to comprehend, the c. is the intellectual expression of reality in… -
Conceptualism (CONCETTUALISMO)
CONCEPTUALISM. - It is the doctrine that denies to general ideas (universals) an objective correspondence in reality, affirming them as… -
Concrete (CONCRETO)
CONCRETE. - In opposition to abstract (v.), which is the mental universal, concrete is the real singular, above all the individual of… -
Condition (CONDIZIONE)
CONDITION. - A very vague term, usually used in relation to that of cause (v.). While the cause has a positive influence in the production… -
Conscience (COSCIENZA)
CONSCIENCE. - I. PHILOSOPHY. - In its etymological meaning (from Lat. cum-scientia, conscience συν-εἰδησις = common knowledge,… -
Contingency (CONTINGENZA)
CONTINGENCY. - In its generic meaning, c. is the happening "both necessary and not necessary or possible" (Aristotle, Anal. Pr., I, 3, 25 a… -
Continuous (CONTINUO)
CONTINUOUS. - The notion of the continuum is connected with that of extension, which is a primitive concept not susceptible of a true… -
Contradiction (CONTRADDIZIONE)
CONTRADICTION. - The relation of opposition existing between the affirmation and the denial of one and the same predicate in relation to… -
Credenza
CREDENZA. - In its general and broadest meaning, to believe is to accept a proposition, a fact, a doctrine, not on account of their… -
Criterion (CRITERIO)
CRITERION. - From the Greek κριτήριον, it is generally a norm or rule for recognizing, discerning (κρίνω = "I judge, I discern") a thing, a… -
Criticism (CRITICISMO)
CRITICISM. - In a general sense, "criticism" denotes any philosophical system or tendency that, before constructing a metaphysics of the… -
Deduction (DEDUZIONE)
DEDUCTION. - It may be understood in different ways: a) In a generic sense, which is also the one immediately suggested by the term,… -
Definition (DEFINIZIONE)
DEFINITION. - As a logical function, definition (definire: to delimit, to set the boundaries) is the act by which thought clarifies and… -
Deism (DEISMO)
DEISM. - Etymologically d. (from Deus) is identical with theism (from Reis) but its philosophical and historical sense is different. The… -
Demonstration (DIMOSTRAZIONE)
DEMONSTRATION. - From de-monstrare, to show, to make seen, with a sense of derivation. In a broad sense, a demonstration is any argument by… -
Deontology (DEONTOLOGIA)
DEONTOLOGY. - From τὸ ἄξον, "duty": the science of duties. It is the title of Bentham's posthumous work, Deontology or the science of… -
Determinism (DETERMINISMO)
DETERMINISM. - It is the conception of a strict, necessary and inevitable dependence among the elements of a process of becoming that stand… -
Dialectic (DIALETTICA)
DIALECTIC. - From διαλέγομαι, I discourse. Of frequent use in philosophy, it carries quite different meanings. In the sense that is still… -
Dilemma
DILEMMA. - From δὶς λῆμμα (double assumption), a form of reasoning in which from two or more members of a disjunctive premise one draws… -
Distinction (DISTINZIONE)
DISTINCTION. - In its broadest meaning, distinction is the non-identity of something with respect to another: human life and knowledge,… -
Division (DIVISIONE)
DIVISION. - PHILOSOPHY. - It is the logical operation by which a whole is resolved into its parts. While definition aims at clarifying the… -
Dogmatism (DOGMATISMO)
DOGMATISM. - From δόγμα, opinion, judgment, dogmatism in its primitive meaning is any tendency or system that defends, at least in general… -
Doubt (DUBBIO)
DOUBT. - I. PHILOSOPHY. - From dubius, uncertain, hesitant (perhaps from the root duo, by analogy with German Zwei-fel), it is the… -
Dualism (DUALISMO)
DUALISM. - From the Latin dualis (derived from duo), it is any tendency or system that, in the general interpretation of the universe, or… -
Dynamism (DINAMISMO)
DYNAMISM. - From δύναμις (force, energy) is called d. every philosophical system which, denying the dualistic antithesis matter-force,… -
Eleatism (ELEATISMO)
ELEATISM. - Philosophy of the school of Elea (a city of Magna Graecia, present-day Velia-Scavi, a station on the Naples-Reggio line) which… -
Emanatism (EMANATISMO)
EMANATISM. - Philosophical and religious doctrine that conceives the world as an emanation, derivation or development of God. E. is usually… -
Empiricism (From Greek ἐκπέτρις « experience ») (EMPIRISMO (DAL GRECO ἘΚΠΈΤΡΙΣ « ESPERIENZA »))
EMPIRICISM (From Greek ἐκπέτρις « experience »). - It is the valuing of the facts of common experience. Against the abstractions of pure… -
Enlightenment (ILLUMINISMO)
ENLIGHTENMENT. - A movement of ideas that shaped culture and philosophy from the last decades of the 17th century to the end of the 18th… -
Entelechy (ENTELECHEIA)
ENTELECHY. - From ἐντελές, "perfect, complete, finished": ἐν "in," "τῶος" "end," ἔχει "I have." A central concept in Aristotle, in which it… -
Eon (EVO)
EON. - From the Greek αἰών (for the form: Latin aevium) it indicates time, the duration of something, so that according to the varying… -
Epigenesis (EPIGENESI)
EPIGENESIS. - Biological theory (from the Greek ἐπὶ "upon" + γένεσις "generation"), according to which the organic differentiation of the… -
Epiphenomenon (EPIFENÒMENO)
EPIPHENOMENON. - From ἐπὶ χάρις φανύψενον "phenomenon" means an accessory or added phenomenon. In psychology this name designates a new… -
Epistemology (EPISTEMOLOGIA)
EPISTEMOLOGY. - Etymologically (ἐπιστήμη = science and λόγος = discourse), it means doctrine of science. In current usage, however, the… -
Eristics (ERISTICA)
ERISTICS. - It is the art of disputation (ἐκέω "I contend") with the aim of overpowering one's opponent; it is commonly said that eristic… -
Error (ERRORE)
ERROR. - From the Latin errare, to wander, to stray, it is, in a broad sense, the departure from truth in thought and in action; in a… -
Essence (ESSENZA)
ESSENCE. - I. It indicates the nature of a thing as such and therefore of what is signified in its definition. If the "being" (v.) is the… -
Estimative Faculty (ESTIMATIVA)
ESTIMATIVE FACULTY. - It is the inner faculty by which the animal apprehends things useful or harmful to its life, and it corresponds to… -
Ethics (ETICA)
ETHICS. - From the Greek ἠθικός, moral, pertaining to conduct, to the character of man: it is the philosophical study of custom, of human… -
Eudemonism (EUDEMONISMO)
EUDEMONISM. - From the Greek εὐ-θαυσινός (εὐθαίμων, good genius, and hence "happy"), it is, in a generic sense, every moral system that… -
Evidence (EVIDENZA)
EVIDENCE. - From e-videre (Gk. ἐνέργεια) it is, in a general sense, the clarity and manifestation of the true. The etymological meaning of… -
Exemplarism (ESEMPLARISMO)
EXEMPLARISM. - Philosophical doctrine that attributes to an ideal world, existing in itself or in the divine mind, the function of… -
Existence (ESISTENZA)
EXISTENCE. - It is the act, the fact, or the reason by virtue of which one can say that something "is there," and it answers the question… -
Existentialism (ESISTENZIALISMO)
EXISTENTIALISM. - It represents the last and most energetic form of reaction against idealism, which took its programmatic name from the… -
Experience (ESPERIENZA)
EXPERIENCE. - From experior (I test, I attempt), it is, in a generic sense, every perception of contents and data of consciousness (v.),… -
Faculty (FACOLTÀ)
FACULTY. - The proximate and immediate principle of activity in a living being. It expresses the concepts of power, energy, force,… -
Fantasy (FANTASIA)
FANTASY. - It is in general the intermediary function between the immediate appearing of objects to the external senses and the reflected… -
Fatalism (FATALISMO)
FATALISM. - A philosophical or theological doctrine that holds every event, whether natural or human, to be the ineluctable effect of a… -
Fate (FATO)
FATE. - It is the lot, the destiny that hangs over something or someone according to a process of causes whose unfolding is necessary and… -
Finality, Finalism (FINALITÀ, FINALISMO)
FINALITY, FINALISM. - By f. is meant the correspondence that a natural process or any human fact has with a certain result toward which the… -
Finality In Human Activity (FINALITÀ NELL'ATTIVITÀ UMANA)
FINALITY IN HUMAN ACTIVITY. - Finality is one of the most universal characteristics of reality and therefore is also one of the most… -
Finite (FINITO)
FINITE. - That which has an end, that is, a "limit" in any order. There is a finite number when it results from the repeated addition of… -
Form (FORMA)
FORM. - In its ordinary meaning it is the outward disposition of the parts of a body (μορφή), a quality of sensible substances, especially… -
Freedom (LIBERTÀ)
FREEDOM. - In general it is the independence that man claims for his actions, whether in relation to the forces of nature (rational liberty… -
Free Thinkers (LIBERI PENSATORI)
FREE THINKERS. - This name designates all those who, rejecting any revelation or dogmatic definition of religious or moral truths, claim… -
Good (BENE)
GOOD. - The good is the "perfection" of being: it therefore indicates the being that has reached its completion (ontological sense), and it… -
Habit, Habitude (ABITO, ABITUDINE)
HABIT, HABITUDE. - A stable quality by which an agent, indifferent to acting according to different orientations, acquires facility and… -
Hedonism (EDONISMO)
HEDONISM. - From the Greek ἡδονή, pleasure, enjoyment, it is, in a generic sense, every doctrine that posits pleasure, however understood,… -
Hermetic Writings (ERMETICI, LIBRI)
HERMETIC WRITINGS. - These writings, which are probably either summaries of readings or of conversations held in restricted philosophical… -
Heteronomy (ETERONOMIA)
HETERONOMY. - In ethics, heteronomy (ἔτερος = other; νόμος = law) is opposed to autonomy (v.), and denotes the character of every moral… -
History, Philosophy Of (STORIA, FILOSOFIA DELLA)
HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY OF. - It is the comprehension of the course of human events in the complex development of civilization. CONTENTS: I.… -
Hylemorphism (ILEMORFISMO)
HYLEMORPHISM. - From ὅλη (matter) and μορφή (form), it indicates the philosophical theory, due to Plato and Aristotle, which holds that… -
Hylozoism (ILOZOISMO)
HYLOZOISM. - From ὕλη, matter, and ζωή, life, it is the theory that recognizes in matter as such a form of life. In the ancients, hylozoism… -
Hypothesis (IPOTESI)
HYPOTHESIS. - A logical term indicating a proposition laid down as the foundation of a reasoning in the search for the explanation of a… -
I (IO)
I. - In the most comprehensive and most current sense, it designates in the human individual the character of "wholly autonomous," the… -
Idea
IDEA. - The term, of Greek origin (ἰδία and εἶδος, from ἰδεῖν, to see), indicates, in its primitive reference, figure, visible aspect,… -
Idealism (IDEALISMO)
IDEALISM. - In general it is the doctrine that makes reality depend on thought. SUMMARY: I. Overall concept and division. - II. Historical… -
Identity (IDENTITÀ)
IDENTITY. - It indicates the reflected unity of being in the variety of its forms and in the multiplicity of its elements, and it can be… -
Ideology (IDEOLOGIA)
IDEOLOGY. - Etymologically (from ἰδέα and λόγος) it is the science of ideas. The term was used for the first time by Destutt de Tracy:… -
Ignorance (IGNORANZA)
IGNORANCE. - In its broadest sense, it is the privation of knowledge or of science in a subject capable of having it. If the subject is… -
Imagination (IMMAGINAZIONE)
IMAGINATION. - It is usually taken as a synonym for fantasy (v.). In medieval Aristotelianism Avicenna distinguished them, assigning to the… -
Immanence (IMMANENZA)
IMMANENCE. - It is said of that which in its operation does not go out from itself or outside itself, but remains within itself. SUMMARY:… -
Immanentism (IMMANENTISMO)
IMMANENTISM. - A neologism that has been very successful in modern and contemporary thought, both in philosophical discussions with the… -
Impression (IMPRESSIONE)
IMPRESSION. - The term acquires a technical meaning in those theories of knowledge that study the relationship between the external world… -
Inclination (INCLINAZIONE)
INCLINATION. - I. IN PHILOSOPHY. - It is the orientation or disposition of an agent with respect to the object that is the goal or else the… -
Indefinite (INDEFINITO)
INDEFINITE. - Besides having the meaning of indeterminate (v. INFINITE), i. denotes a limited magnitude that can grow without end. I.… -
Individual (INDIVIDUO)
INDIVIDUAL. - I. PHILOSOPHY. - Commonly the term i. is used to signify concrete reality, that is, reality essentially determined in itself… -
Individualism (INDIVIDUALISMO)
INDIVIDUALISM. - It is, in general, every system, tendency or orientation that considers the individual (v.) as the most authentic and… -
Individuation, Principle of (INDIVIDUAZIONE, PRINCIPIO DI)
INDIVIDUATION, PRINCIPLE OF. - The beings existing in the world, although presenting an essential commonality in their specific nature, are… -
Indole (from Ἰνδάλλωμαι = "I appear", "I show myself") (INDOLE (DA ἸΝΔΆΛΛΩΜΑ = « APPARISCO », « MI MOSTRO »))
INDOLE (from Ἰνδάλλωμαι = "I appear", "I show myself"). - It is meant to indicate the natural disposition, the particular… -
Induction (INDUZIONE)
INDUCTION. - In current language (apart from the technical meaning in physical science, e.g., magnetic i.) it means "conjecture,"… -
Infinite (INFINITO)
INFINITE. — That which has no end or limit. If that whose limit is denied is something negative and imperfect, there is a negative i.,… -
Instinct (ISTINTO)
INSTINCT. - It is a tendency, an inner impulse, that determines and directs a complex of external, spontaneous and coordinated acts, by… -
Intellect (INTELLETTO)
INTELLECT. - It is the principle of thought of human consciousness that distinguishes man from the lower forms of life. The first… -
Intellectualism (INTELLETTUALISMO)
INTELLECTUALISM. - In a generic sense, any conception of truth that admits the superiority of the intellect over the sensitive faculties… -
Intentionality (INTENZIONALITÀ)
INTENTIONALITY. - A philosophical term derived from intention, and today used predominantly to designate the order of knowability in its… -
Introspection (INTROSPEZIONE)
INTROSPECTION. - It is the method of analyzing the appearing and the content of psychic processes by means of self-observation, which is… -
Intuition (INTUIZIONE)
INTUITION. - From the Latin intueri (Gk. εἰσπρέω), to see, to look within, to contemplate, it indicates, etymologically, vision, a look,… -
Intuitionism (INTUIZIONISMO)
INTUITIONISM. — A philosophical term whose meaning cannot always be precisely defined, sometimes replaced by the other term intuitionalism.… -
Irrationalism (IRRAZIONALISMO)
IRRATIONALISM. - A term whose meaning is not easily pinned down, given the many senses it has taken on in the history of philosophy and… -
Judgment (GIUDIZIO)
JUDGMENT. - Judgment (Gr. ἀπόφασις, κατάφασις, Lat. iudicium, propositio, enunciatio, sententia) is the act by which thought affirms (or… -
Knowledge (CONOSCENZA)
KNOWLEDGE. - From the Latin cognoscere (cumnoscere, Greek γινώσκειν and γινώσκειν) it is the act by which a being (subject) becomes aware… -
Language (LINGUAGGIO)
LANGUAGE. - In its proper and common meaning, language is spoken speech, the means of expression and communication of thought in man. In a… -
Liberal Arts (ARTI LIBERALI)
LIBERAL ARTS. - Under the name of l. a. go the literary and scientific disciplines which constituted, during the Middle Ages, the… -
Life (VITA)
LIFE. - I. PHILOSOPHY. - 1. Notions. In contemporary philosophical language, "life" indicates, in the strict sense, "a set of phenomena… -
Limit (LIMITE)
LIMIT. - The limit (Greek πέρας, Latin terminus, German Grenze) is defined by Aristotle as "the extreme point of a thing: that first point,… -
Male
MALE. - It is whatever is opposed to the good (v.) and to the perfection of something: "Hoe est esse mali quod est privatio boni" (Sum.… -
Marburg School (MARBURGO, SCUOLA DI)
MARBURG SCHOOL. - It is one of the two principal directions of German neo-Kantianism; its founder was Hermann Cohen (v.; 1842-1918); and… -
Materialism (MATERIALISMO)
MATERIALISM. - A philosophical (scientific, historical) system that deduces the form of things and events from their matter, considering… -
Mechanicism (MECCANICISMO)
MECHANICISM. - A philosophical theory, or more generally a current of thought, that interprets the world as a great machine, and seeks the… -
Methodology (METODOLOGIA)
METHODOLOGY. - The word method (μέθοδος, from μετὰ, through, and ὁδός, way), sometimes used by the ancients in the sense of "inquiry,"… -
Mimesis (MIMESI)
MIMESIS. - From μίμησις, it means imitation. It is a concept on which, probably already in the most ancient historical cultures, the… -
Monism (MONISMO)
MONISM. - From μόνος, single, it is, in the proper sense, every system that regards the multiplicity of things as apparent, resolving it… -
Motion (MOTO)
MOTION. - Motion in general, or change, is the passage from one mode of being to another: in this sense everything moves, except God, pure… -
Nativism (INNATISMO)
NATIVISM. - A term from philosophical language, used to indicate any system or tendency that admits the original (congenital, innate)… -
Nature (NATURA)
NATURE. - It is the intrinsic principle of the becoming of corporeal beings, especially according to Aristotle, who derives the term φύσις… -
Necessity (NECESSITÀ)
NECESSITY. - I. PHILOSOPHY. - It is predicated of everything that in some order (ontological, physical, logical and moral) "cannot be… -
Neocriticism (NEOCRITICISMO)
NEOCRITICISM. - Term with which the philosophical currents that take up and develop the themes of Kantian philosophy (v. CRITICISM; KANT)… -
Neoplatonism (NEOPLATONISMO)
NEOPLATONISM. - A philosophical current and school inspired principally by Plato, which arose in Alexandria toward the end of the 2nd… -
Neorealism (NEOREALISMO)
NEOREALISM. - An Anglo-American philosophical-scientific movement that forms part of the broader movement of contemporary "realism,"… -
Nominalism (NOMINALISMO)
NOMINALISM. - A philosophical tendency that denies the existence of general concepts, or at least denies that a real content of their own… -
Norma
NORMA. - In Latin, just as in Greek γνώμων or κανών, it properly means the "square," which, by making it possible to draw a line… -
Noumenon (NOUMENO)
NOUMENON. - From the Greek νοοῦμενον (νοῦς, intellect) it means, etymologically, intelligible. The term is referred by Plato (v.) to the… -
Object (OGGETTO)
OBJECT. - From ob-icere (ob-iectum, Gk. ἀντι-κλίμενον) it is that which stands opposite, which is placed before. It therefore implies,… -
Objectivism (OGGETTIVISMO)
OBJECTIVISM. - A tendency or orientation, common to philosophical systems that are otherwise different, according to which knowledge does… -
Obligation (OBBLIGAZIONE)
OBLIGATION. - O. in its very Latin etymology means, in the active sense, the act of binding or obligating, in the passive sense the feeling… -
Occasionalism (OCCASIONALISMO)
OCCASIONALISM. - A philosophical current that develops Cartesian philosophy, resolving its dualism (v.) by attributing efficient causality… -
Ontological Argument (ONTOLOGICO, ARGOMENTO)
ONTOLOGICAL ARGUMENT. - In the history of philosophy, the o. a. is that form of demonstration which seeks to deduce the existence of God… -
Ontologism (ONTOLOGISMO)
ONTOLOGISM. - A philosophical trend, of varied meaning, characteristic especially of modern philosophy. I. NOTION AND HISTORY. - Many… -
Ontology (ONTOLOGIA)
ONTOLOGY. - From ὄν and λόγος, science of being, it is synonymous with metaphysics (v.) and seems to have been introduced for the first… -
Opinion (OPINIONE)
OPINION. - An assertion to which assent is given, but without absolute certainty and without there being evidence (v.) of its truth.… -
Optimism (OTTIMISMO)
OPTIMISM. — In the narrower philosophical sense the term refers, at the beginning of the 18th century, to the doctrine of Leibniz (v.)… -
Panlogism (PANLOGISMO)
PANLOGISM. - From Gr. πᾶν, all, and λόγος, reason, it is "the doctrine according to which everything that is real is wholly intelligible… -
Panpsychism (PANPSICHISMO)
PANPSYCHISM. - It is the doctrine that attributes a soul to all things, including those of inorganic nature (πᾶν, all, ψυχή, soul), insofar… -
Pantheism (PANTEISMO)
PANTHEISM. - A very ancient doctrine, but the introduction and use of the term are relatively recent. As R. Eucken (v.) noted, J. Toland… -
Participation (PARTECIPAZIONE)
PARTICIPATION. - Participation, or methexis (Gr. μέθεξις), as a philosophical concept receives its first determination in Platonism. Plato… -
Passion (PASSIONE)
PASSION. - In ordinary language it indicates the impetuous force of an inclination toward a determinate object that manifests itself in the… -
Perceptionism (PERCEZIONISMO)
PERCEPTIONISM. - In philosophy, it is that theory of sensible knowledge which affirms the ordinary formal objectivity of sensible… -
Person (PERSONA)
PERSON. - It indicates the dignity of subsistent spiritual nature: « Persona significat id quod est perfectissimum in tota natura, scilicet… -
Personalism (PERSONALISMO)
PERSONALISM. - From persona (v.), the term goes back to the 19th century (Schleiermacher, Feuerbach, Grote, Teichmüller), used in… -
Personality (PERSONALITÀ)
PERSONALITY. - In the metaphysical sense, p. expresses the constitutive determination of the person (v.), the foundation from which the… -
Pessimism (PESSIMISMO)
PESSIMISM. - It is the conception that contrasts with optimism (v.) insofar as it affirms the predominance of evil (v.) over good (v.):… -
Petitio Principii (PETIZIONE DI PRINCIPIO)
PETITIO PRINCIPII. - A sophism (v.) consisting in assuming, explicitly or implicitly, as the basis of the proof, the very thing that is to… -
Phenomenism (FENOMENISMO)
PHENOMENISM. - In its most rigorous expression, it is the philosophical system that denies the reality of being or the thing in itself… -
Phenomenology (FENOMENOLOGIA)
PHENOMENOLOGY. - A term used, it seems, for the first time by J. H. Lambert (1764) and then by Kant, to indicate that particular… -
Phenomenon (FENOMENO)
PHENOMENON. - From the Greek φαίνομαι, "to show, to bring to light" (root φα, "to shine," "light"), it means appearance, presentation:… -
Philosophy of Action (AZIONE, FILOSOFIA DELL')
PHILOSOPHY OF ACTION. - Under the name philosophy of action are sometimes included various currents and systems (pragmatism, certain forms… -
Platonism (PLATONISMO)
PLATONISM. - For ancient Greek Platonism, see the entry ACCADEMIA (I. Greek Platonism). Here we shall treat: I. Platonism in the Fathers;… -
Pleasure (PIACERE)
PLEASURE. - In general, in classical usage it indicates the "joy" of the senses when they are satisfied and therefore also the physical… -
Pluralism (PLURALISMO)
PLURALISM. - In opposition to monism (v.), it is the doctrine according to which reality is constituted of multiple and diverse entities.… -
Pneumatology (PNEUMATOLOGIA)
PNEUMATOLOGY. - From πνεῦμα (spirit) and λόγος (word-concept), it means the science of the spirit. An expression by now little or not at… -
Possibility (POSSIBILITÀ)
POSSIBILITY. - In the logical sense, possible is that which, once posited, has no absurd consequence; it is that which can be and not be,… -
Predicables (PREDICABILI)
PREDICABLES. - The term (Gk. κατηγορούμενα, whence also, in Italian, "categoremes") means "that which can be predicated" of another. In a… -
Pre-established Harmony (ARMONIA PRESTABILITÀ)
PRE-ESTABLISHED HARMONY. - It is a doctrine — or hypothesis — central to Leibniz, which, although it has various historical roots… -
Primary Qualities (PRIMARIE, QUALITÀ)
PRIMARY QUALITIES. - They are, according to the common acceptation after Locke (v.), the qualities (v.) of bodies without which the body… -
Probability (PROBABILITÀ)
PROBABILITY. - In the sense now common, a fact is probable which, while not presenting itself as absolutely certain, is nevertheless… -
Problematicism (PROBLEMATICISMO)
PROBLEMATICISM. - "Problematicism" generally denotes every "critical philosophy," that is, every method that intends to begin… -
Proposition (PROPOSIZIONE)
PROPOSITION. - From Lat. pro-ponere, "to place before." The Greek πρότασις (προκτίθημι) corresponds to it, referring, for the most part, to… -
Psychologism (PSICOLOGISMO)
PSYCHOLOGISM. - It indicates, in general, «the tendency to let the psychological point of view (that is, the empirical analysis and… -
Pyrrhonism (PIRRONISMO)
PYRRHONISM. - It is the school of thought that traces back to the skeptical doctrine of Pyrrho of Elis (c. 360-270 B.C.). It was summed up… -
Quality (QUALITÀ)
QUALITY. - Q. (ποιότης) means, in a generic sense, mode of being. The universe, material and spiritual, not only presents a multiplicity of…