Glossary
A
- Agnosticism — The view that the existence of god is unknown or unknowable.
- Atheism — The absence of belief in gods.
B
- Burden of proof — The obligation to provide evidence for a claim.
C
- Cosmological argument — An argument for the existence of god based on the existence of the universe.
D
- Deism — The belief that a god created the universe but does not intervene in it.
- Determinism — The view that all events are caused by prior events and natural laws.
E
- Empiricism — The theory that knowledge comes primarily from sensory experience.
- Epistemology — The branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge and justified belief.
F
- Falsifiability — The capacity for a claim to be proven false by evidence or experiment.
- Free will — The ability to make choices that are not determined by prior causes.
- Freethinker — A person who forms opinions through reason rather than religious authority.
G
- Gnostic atheist — An atheist who claims to know there is no god.
H
- Humanism — A philosophy that centers human values, reason, and dignity without reference to the supernatural.
I
- Ignosticism — The view that the question of god's existence is meaningless until "god" is clearly defined.
- Infidel — A term historically used to describe those who do not hold a particular religious belief.
J
No entries yet.
K
No entries yet.
L
- Logical positivism — A philosophical movement holding that only empirically verifiable or logically necessary statements are meaningful.
M
- Materialism — The view that only physical matter exists and that all phenomena are explainable in material terms.
- Metaphysics — The branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of existence and reality.
N
- Naturalism — The view that everything arises from natural properties and causes.
- Nihilism — The rejection of all religious and moral principles, often in the belief that life is meaningless.
- Nontheism — A broad category encompassing any position that does not include belief in a god.
O
- Ontological argument — An argument for the existence of god based on the concept of a perfect being.
P
- Pantheism — The belief that the universe and god are identical.
- Pascal's Wager — The argument that one should believe in god because the potential benefit outweighs the cost.
- Physicalism — The view that everything that exists is physical or depends on the physical.
Q
No entries yet.
R
- Rationalism — The belief that reason is the primary source of knowledge.
- Relativism — The view that truth and morality are not absolute but relative to context.
S
- Secular humanism — A philosophy that affirms human dignity and ethics without religion.
- Skepticism — The practice of questioning claims and requiring evidence before accepting them as true.
- Solipsism — The view that only one's own mind is certain to exist.
T
- Teleological argument — An argument for god's existence based on apparent design or purpose in nature.
- Theism — Belief in the existence of one or more gods.
U
- Utilitarianism — An ethical theory that the best action is the one that maximizes overall well-being.
V
No entries yet.
W
- Worldview — A comprehensive framework through which a person interprets reality and interacts with it.
X
No entries yet.
Y
No entries yet.
Z
No entries yet.