Acosmism, in contrast to pantheism, denies the reality of the universe, seeing it as ultimately illusory, (the prefix "a-" in Greek meaning negation; like "un-" in English), and only the infinite unmanifest Absolute as real. This philosophy begins with the premise that there is only one Reality, which is infinite, non-dual, blissful, etc. Yet the [ Read More ]
Archive for the ‘Philosophy’ Category
Agnosticism (from the Greek "a," meaning "without," and Gnosticism or "gnosis," meaning knowledge) means "unknowable," and is the philosophical view that the truth value of certain claims, particularly theological claims regarding metaphysics, afterlife or the existence of God, god(s), or deities, is unknown or, depending on the form of agnosticism, inherently unknowable. Agnostics claim either [ Read More ]
Categories: Philosophy
In its most general sense, the term Animism refers to belief in souls (animus is Latin for "soul"): in this sense, animism is present in nearly all religions, including religions such as Christianity that see souls as distinct from bodies and as limited to humans. In a more restrictive sense, animism refers to belief systems [ Read More ]
Categories: Philosophy
Antitheism (sometimes anti-theism) is active opposition to theism. The etymology of the word comes from the Greek ‘anti-’ and ‘theismos’. The term has had a range of applications; in secular contexts, it typically refers to direct opposition to belief in any deity, while in theistic ones, it sometimes refers to opposition to an actual god [ Read More ]
Categories: Philosophy
Atheism, defined as a philosophical view, is the position that either affirms the nonexistence of gods or rejects theism. In its broadest definition, atheism is the absence of belief in deities, sometimes called nontheism. Although atheists are commonly assumed to be irreligious, some religions, such as Buddhism, have been characterized as atheistic. Many self-described atheists [ Read More ]
Categories: Philosophy
Binitarianism is a theology of two in one God, as opposed to one (unitarianism) or three (trinitarianism). Classically, it is understood as strict monotheism ? that is, that God is an absolutely single being; and yet there is a “twoness” in God. At times, this monotheism drifted toward a “twoness” of God: that is, two [ Read More ]
Categories: Philosophy
Deism is a religious philosophy and movement that became prominent in England, France, and the United States in the 17th and 18th centuries. Deists typically reject supernatural events (prophecy, miracles) and divine revelation prominent in organized religion, along with holy books and revealed religions that assert the existence of such things. Instead, deists hold that [ Read More ]
Categories: Philosophy
Determinism is the philosophical proposition that every event, including human cognition, decision and action, is causally determined by an unbroken chain of prior occurrences. Determinism may also be defined as the thesis that there is at any instant exactly one physically possible future. Mecca Chiesa notes that the probabilistic or selectionistic determinism of B.F. Skinner [ Read More ]
Categories: Philosophy
Dualism is the view that two fundamental concepts exist, which often oppose each other, such as good and evil, light and dark, or male and female. The word’s origin is the Latin dualis, meaning “two” (as an adjective). Moral dualism Moral dualism is the belief of the coexistence (in eastern and naturalistic religions) or conflict [ Read More ]
Categories: Philosophy
Dystheism is the belief that God does exist but is not wholly good, or that he might even be evil. The opposite concept is eutheism, the belief that God exists and is good. The notion of dystheism is closely related to theodicy (the problem of evil, the Euthyphro dilemma). Terminology Eutheism and dystheism are straightforward [ Read More ]
Categories: Philosophy
