Key Philosophical Concepts: Definitions and Meanings

Classified in Philosophy and ethics

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  • Philosophy

    This term means love of wisdom. It is not so much a body of acquired knowledge, but rather a desire for knowledge that gives us a global understanding of reality. It is very difficult to define philosophy because the question of its meaning is also a philosophical question. This is why there is no one definition of philosophy that can be universally accepted. Some of the characteristics of philosophy are an enthusiasm to discover universality, a critical attitude, and a radical approach to finding the basis of the claims it produces. Philosophy can be divided further, and some of the most important areas of it are: metaphysics, epistemology, anthropology, ethics, aesthetics, and political philosophy.

  • Renaissance

    This cultural moment took place between the 16th and 17th centuries. It advocated for a return to the values and tastes of classical Greco-Roman culture, as well as a renewed interest in human beings and nature in general.

  • Ritual

    Ceremonial act that is generally linked to a belief or religion. A ritual invariably involves repeating a series of symbolic actions.

  • Sensation

    One of the processes that form our sensory knowledge. It involves a series of psycho-physical processes, which begin in our sense organs when they are stimulated, and end in our brain.

  • Sensitivity

    Cognitive faculty that allows us to receive information from the outside world through the stimulation of the sense organs.

  • Social Anthropology

    Branch of anthropology that aims to understand human beings from a social and cultural perspective.

  • Soul

    According to dualist doctrine, the soul is an immaterial entity which, together with the body, makes up certain types of beings. Some thinkers describe the soul as that which gives life to the body. Other authors describe the soul as our ability to be rational.

  • Spirit

    Immaterial reality which, together with matter, constitutes the two types of reality that exist.

  • Teleology

    Type of explanation that links studied phenomena, processes, and changes with a pre-established plan.

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