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philosophical doctrine

/ˌˈfɪləˌsɑfəkəl ˌdɑktrən/

Other forms: philosophical doctrines

Definitions of philosophical doctrine
  1. noun
    a doctrine accepted by adherents to a philosophy
    synonyms: philosophical theory
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    types:
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    aesthetic, esthetic
    (philosophy) a philosophical theory as to what is beautiful
    Aristotelianism, peripateticism
    (philosophy) the philosophy of Aristotle that deals with logic and metaphysics and ethics and poetics and politics and natural science
    conceptualism
    the doctrine that the application of a general term to various objects indicates the existence of a mental entity that mediates the application
    Confucianism
    the teachings of Confucius emphasizing love for humanity; high value given to learning and to devotion to family (including ancestors); peace; justice; influenced the traditional culture of China
    deconstruction, deconstructionism
    a philosophical theory of criticism (usually of literature or film) that seeks to expose deep-seated contradictions in a work by delving below its surface meaning
    empiricism, empiricist philosophy, sensationalism
    (philosophy) the doctrine that knowledge derives from experience
    environmentalism
    the philosophical doctrine that environment is more important than heredity in determining intellectual growth
    existential philosophy, existentialism, existentialist philosophy
    (philosophy) a 20th-century philosophical movement chiefly in Europe; assumes that people are entirely free and thus responsible for what they make of themselves
    determinism
    (philosophy) a philosophical theory holding that all events are inevitable consequences of antecedent sufficient causes; often understood as denying the possibility of free will
    formalism
    (philosophy) the philosophical theory that formal (logical or mathematical) statements have no meaning but that its symbols (regarded as physical entities) exhibit a form that has useful applications
    hereditarianism
    the philosophical doctrine that heredity is more important than environment in determining intellectual growth
    idealism
    (philosophy) the philosophical theory that ideas are the only reality
    intuitionism
    (philosophy) the doctrine that knowledge is acquired primarily by intuition
    logicism
    (philosophy) the philosophical theory that all of mathematics can be derived from formal logic
    materialism, physicalism
    (philosophy) the philosophical theory that matter is the only reality
    mechanism
    (philosophy) the philosophical theory that all phenomena can be explained in terms of physical or biological causes
    mentalism
    (philosophy) a doctrine that mind is the true reality and that objects exist only as aspects of the mind's awareness
    nativism
    (philosophy) the philosophical theory that some ideas are innate
    naturalism
    (philosophy) the doctrine that the world can be understood in scientific terms without recourse to spiritual or supernatural explanations
    Neoplatonism
    a system of philosophical and theological doctrines composed of elements of Platonism and Aristotelianism and oriental mysticism; its most distinctive doctrine holds that the first principle and source of reality transcends being and thought and is naturally unknowable
    nominalism
    (philosophy) the doctrine that the various objects labeled by the same term have nothing in common but their name
    operationalism
    (philosophy) the doctrine that the meaning of a proposition consists of the operations involved in proving or applying it
    Platonism, realism
    (philosophy) the philosophical doctrine that abstract concepts exist independent of their names
    pragmatism
    (philosophy) the doctrine that practical consequences are the criteria of knowledge and meaning and value
    probabilism
    (philosophy) the doctrine that (since certainty is unattainable) probability is a sufficient basis for belief and action
    rationalism
    (philosophy) the doctrine that knowledge is acquired by reason without resort to experience
    naive realism, realism
    (philosophy) the philosophical doctrine that physical objects continue to exist when not perceived
    relativism
    (philosophy) the philosophical doctrine that all criteria of judgment are relative to the individuals and situations involved
    Scholasticism
    the system of philosophy dominant in medieval Europe; based on Aristotle and the Church Fathers
    semiology, semiotics
    (philosophy) a philosophical theory of the functions of signs and symbols
    sensationalism, sensualism
    (philosophy) the ethical doctrine that feeling is the only criterion for what is good
    solipsism
    (philosophy) the philosophical theory that the self is all that you know to exist
    Stoicism
    (philosophy) the philosophical system of the Stoics following the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Zeno
    subjectivism
    (philosophy) the doctrine that knowledge and value are dependent on and limited by your subjective experience
    Daoism, Taoism
    philosophical system developed by Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu advocating a simple honest life and noninterference with the course of natural events
    teleology
    (philosophy) a doctrine explaining phenomena by their ends or purposes
    traditionalism
    the doctrine that all knowledge was originally derived by divine revelation and that it is transmitted by traditions
    vitalism
    (philosophy) a doctrine that life is a vital principle distinct from physics and chemistry
    British empiricism
    the predominant philosophical tradition in Great Britain since the 17th century
    experimentalism
    an empirical doctrine that advocates experimental principles
    fatalism
    a philosophical doctrine holding that all events are predetermined in advance for all time and human beings are powerless to change them
    instrumentalism
    a system of pragmatic philosophy that considers idea to be instruments that should guide our actions and their value is measured by their success
    dialectical materialism
    the materialistic philosophy of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
    logical positivism, positivism
    the form of empiricism that bases all knowledge on perceptual experience (not on intuition or revelation)
    type of:
    doctrine, ism, philosophical system, philosophy, school of thought
    a belief (or system of beliefs) accepted as authoritative by some group or school
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