Glossary

Determinism

Hard

The position that says that all of our actions are completely predetermined. Freedom in any form is non-existant. Important hard determinist philosophers include Holbach and Laplace.

Soft

The position that states that, though we may be partially free, many of our actions are predetermined. This is a somewhat very vague definition, for it is a vague position. The position states that we may be partly free, but we might not be - soft determinism does not preclude hard determinism.

Entailment, or Implication

A premise-conclusion relation in which the premises entail the conlusion. That is to say, the conclusion follows necessarily from the premises. Valid arguments are those in which the premises entail the conclusion.

Forms

From Plato's philosophy. For practical purposes, the form of something is its concept/idea/ideal. This is not strictly in line with Plato's philosophy, but the distinction is fine, and I discuss it in the entry on Plato. It is important to note, though, that the Forms are real; they are not just ideas in our heads. They exist outside of us, and we have the ability to recognize and understand them.

Indeterminism

The position that states that not all of our actions are completely determined. Some of them may be, but they are not all. This position differs from soft determinism only in that, in this latter, some or all of our actions are determined; for indeterminism, some or all of our actions are not determined.

Premise

A reason put forward in support of a conclusion.

Social Contract

A theory of how societies were initally formed. It states that people lived separately at first, competing against each other. Then they came together, agreeing to not harm each other, and formed the beginning of society as we know it. An important social contract theorist is Thomas Hobbes.

Straw Man

The fallacy of attributing an argument to someone that he does not actually hold, and then criticizing that argument. (The false position that you attribute is usually weaker and more easily criticized than the one actually held.)

Valid

An argument whose conclusion follows necessarily from the premises. If the premises are true, then the conclusion is absolutely true. Valid arguments are said to follow valid forms, or patterns. The study of valid argument forms is the study of formal logic.