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φρόνησις
In ancient Greek philosophy, () refers to the type of wisdom or intelligence concerned with practical action. It implies good judgment and excellence of character and habits. In Aristotelian ethics, the concept is distinguished from other words for wisdom and intellectual virtues (such as and ) because of its practical character. Ancient Greek Philosophy Socrates In some of Socrates' dialogues, he proposes that is a necessary condition for all virtue, and that to be good is to be an intelligent or reasonable person with intelligent and reasonable thoughts. In Plato's '' Meno'', Socrates writes that is the most important attribute to learn, although it cannot be taught and is instead gained through the understanding of one's own self. Aristotle In Aristotle's work, is the intellectual virtue that helps turn one's moral instincts into practical action. He writes that moral virtues help any person to achieve the end, and that is what it takes to discover the means to gain tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhetorical Reason
Rhetorical reason is the faculty of discovering the crux of the matter. It is a characteristic of rhetorical invention (''inventio'') and it precedes argumentation. Aristotle's definition Aristotle's definition of rhetoric, "the faculty of observing, in any given case, the available means of persuasion", presupposes a distinction between an art (τέχνη, '' techne'') of speech–making and a cognitively prior faculty of discovery. That is so because, before one argues a case, one must discover what is at issue. How, for example, does one discover available means of persuasion? One does not simply frolic through fertile fields of τόποι ('' topoi''), randomly gathering materials with which to build lines of argument. There is a method endemic to rhetoric which guides the search for those lines of argument that speak most directly to the issue at stake. George A. Kennedy explains the distinction when he writes that the work of rhetoric, in Aristotle's view, is ''Inventio' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virtue
A virtue () is a trait of excellence, including traits that may be morality, moral, social, or intellectual. The cultivation and refinement of virtue is held to be the "good of humanity" and thus is Value (ethics), valued as an Telos, end purpose of life or a foundational principle of being. In human practical ethics, a virtue is a disposition to choose actions that succeed in showing high moral standards: doing what is said to be right and avoiding what is wrong in a given field of endeavour, even when doing so may be unnecessary from a utilitarianism, utilitarian perspective. When someone takes pleasure in doing what is right, even when it is difficult or initially unpleasant, they can establish virtue as a habit. Such a person is said to be virtuous through having cultivated such a disposition. The opposite of virtue is vice. Other examples of this notion include the concept of Merit (Buddhism), merit in Asian traditions as well as (Chinese language, Chinese ). Etymology The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Sense
Common sense () is "knowledge, judgement, and taste which is more or less universal and which is held more or less without reflection or argument". As such, it is often considered to represent the basic level of sound practical judgement or knowledge of basic facts that any adult human being ought to possess. It is "common" in the sense of being shared by nearly all people. Relevant terms from other languages used in such discussions include the aforementioned Latin, itself translating Ancient Greek ('), and French '. However, these are not straightforward translations in all contexts, and in English different shades of meaning have developed. In philosophical and scientific contexts, since the Age of Enlightenment the term "common sense" has been used for rhetorical effect both approvingly and disapprovingly. On the one hand it has been a standard for good taste, good sense, and source of scientific and logical axioms. On the other hand it has been equated to conventional wisdom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Judgement
Judgement (or judgment) is the evaluation of given circumstances to make a decision. Judgement is also the ability to make considered decisions. In an informal context, a judgement is opinion expressed as fact. In the context of a legal trial, a judgement is a final finding, statement or ruling, based on evidence, rules and precedents, called '' adjudication'' (see Judgment (law)).In the context of psychology, judgment informally references the quality of a person's cognitive faculties and adjudicational capabilities, typically called '' wisdom''. In formal psychology, judgement and decision making (JDM) is a cognitive process by which individuals reason, make decisions, and form opinions and beliefs. Psychology In cognitive psychology (and related fields like experimental philosophy, social psychology, behavioral economics, or experimental economics), judgement is part of a set of cognitive processes by which individuals reason, make decisions, and form beliefs and op ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Élan Vital
''Élan vital'' () is a term coined by French philosopher Henri Bergson in his 1907 book '' Creative Evolution'', in which he addresses the question of self-organisation and spontaneous morphogenesis of things in an increasingly complex manner. ''Élan vital'' was translated in the English edition as "vital impetus", but is usually translated by his detractors as "vital force". It is a hypothetical explanation for evolution and development of organisms, which Bergson linked closely with consciousness – the intuitive perception of experience and the flow of inner time. Precursors Distant anticipations of Bergson can be found in the work of the pre-Christian Stoic philosopher Posidonius, who postulated a "vital force" emanated by the sun to all living creatures on the Earth's surface, and in that of Zeno of Elea. The concept of ''élan vital'' is also similar to Baruch Spinoza's concept of conatus as well as Arthur Schopenhauer's concept of the will-to-live and the Sanskrit '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doctrine Of The Mean
The ''Doctrine of the Mean'' or ''Zhongyong'' is one of the Four Books of classical Chinese philosophy and a central doctrine of Confucianism. The text is attributed to Zisi (Kong Ji), the only grandson of Confucius (Kong Zi). It was originally a chapter in the ''Classic of Rites''. The phrase "doctrine of the mean" occurs in Book VI, verse 29 of the ''Analects'' of Confucius, which states: The ''Analects'' never expands on what this term means, but Zisi's text, ''The Doctrine of the Mean'', explores its meaning in detail, as well as how to apply it to one's life. The application of Confucian metaphysics to politics and virtue ethics. The text was adopted into the canon of the Neo-Confucian movement, as compiled by Zhu Xi. While Burton Watson translated ''Zhōngyōng'' as ''Doctrine of the Mean'', other English-language translators have rendered it differently. James Legge in 1861 called it ''Constant Mean'', Pierre Ryckmans (writer), Pierre Ryckmans (aka Simon Leys) use ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dianoia
In Platonism, ''dianoia'' (Greek: διάνοια) is the human cognitive faculty associated with the BC portion of the analogy of the divided line and related to '' discursive'' thinking about mathematical and technical subjects. It stands in contrast to the immediate, cognitive process of '' intuitive'' apprehension or '' noesis''. In Aristotle, ''dianoia'' is subdivided into theoretical knowledge ''( technē)'' and practical knowledge ''( phronēsis)''. See also *Epistemology *Theory of Forms The Theory of Forms or Theory of Ideas, also known as Platonic idealism or Platonic realism, is a philosophical theory credited to the Classical Greek philosopher Plato. A major concept in metaphysics, the theory suggests that the physical w ... References Works cited * * * Concepts in epistemology Platonism Thought {{epistemology-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Casuistry
Casuistry ( ) is a process of reasoning that seeks to resolve moral problems by extracting or extending abstract rules from a particular case, and reapplying those rules to new instances. This method occurs in applied ethics and jurisprudence. The term is also used pejoratively to criticise the use of clever but unsound reasoning, especially in relation to ethical questions (as in sophistry). It has been defined as follows: Study of cases of conscience and a method of solving conflicts of obligations by applying general principles of ethics, religion, and moral theology to particular and concrete cases of human conduct. This frequently demands an extensive knowledge of natural law and equity, civil law, ecclesiastical precepts, and an exceptional skill in interpreting these various norms of conduct.... It remains a common method in applied ethics. Etymology According to the Online Etymological Dictionary, the term and its agent noun "casuist", appearing from about 1600, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Predictability
Predictability is the degree to which a correct prediction or forecast of a system's state can be made, either qualitatively or quantitatively. Predictability and causality Causal determinism has a strong relationship with predictability. Perfect predictability implies strict determinism, but lack of predictability does not necessarily imply lack of determinism. Limitations on predictability could be caused by factors such as a lack of information or excessive complexity. In experimental physics, there are always observational errors determining variables such as positions and velocities. So perfect prediction is ''practically'' impossible. Moreover, in modern quantum mechanics, Werner Heisenberg's indeterminacy principle puts limits on the accuracy with which such quantities can be known. So such perfect predictability is also ''theoretically'' impossible. Laplace's demon Laplace's demon is a supreme intelligence who could completely predict the one possible future given ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Counter-example
A counterexample is any exception to a generalization. In logic a counterexample disproves the generalization, and does so rigorously in the fields of mathematics and philosophy. For example, the fact that "student John Smith is not lazy" is a counterexample to the generalization "students are lazy", and both a counterexample to, and disproof of, the universal quantification "all students are lazy." In mathematics In mathematics, counterexamples are often used to prove the boundaries of possible theorems. By using counterexamples to show that certain conjectures are false, mathematical researchers can then avoid going down blind alleys and learn to modify conjectures to produce provable theorems. It is sometimes said that mathematical development consists primarily in finding (and proving) theorems and counterexamples. Rectangle example Suppose that a mathematician is studying geometry and shapes, and she wishes to prove certain theorems about them. She conjectures that "All rect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Social Science
Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of society", established in the 18th century. It now encompasses a wide array of additional academic disciplines, including anthropology, archaeology, economics, geography, history, linguistics, management, communication studies, psychology, culturology, and political science. The majority of positivist social scientists use methods resembling those used in the natural sciences as tools for understanding societies, and so define science in its stricter modern sense. Speculative social scientists, otherwise known as interpretivist scientists, by contrast, may use social critique or symbolic interpretation rather than constructing empirically falsifiable theories, and thus treat science in its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
