Understanding Our Being: Introduction to Speculative Philosophy in the Perennial Tradition

Glossary

Glossary Terms listed in this Glossary have been introduced in italics in appropriate sections of the book. abstraction: process by which the intellect forms universal concepts— which, in principle, represent common, essential features of things. accidents: as identified by the perennial tradition, the nine categories of being (quality, quantity, relation, etc.) that depend upon substance. act or actuality: in the primary philosophical sense, concrete reality; sometimes divided into “first act” (i.e., existence) and “second act” (activity or other real feature of an existing thing). action: type of act that involves the maintaining of a perfection, or the bringing about of a change, either in the agent itself or in another or others. affective keys: notion adapted from existentialist philosophers and psychologists , designating a person’s most general affective responses to the world (e.g., hope or despair). affectivity: dimension of living beings according to which they are attracted to or repelled by features of reality and act accordingly. agent cause: see efficient cause. agent (or active) intellect: intellect in the act of forming concepts or universals . (Contrast possible intellect.) agnosticism: position holding that we cannot know or properly believe anything about God—including whether God exists. analogous: use of language according to which a common term has meanings that are related to one another, rather than being completely the same or completely different—often divided into analogy of “attribution” and analogy of “proportionality”; features of reality that form the basis of analogous uses of language. 281 analytic philosophy: a prominent twentieth-century school of philosophy, and especially methodology, according to which philosophical progress depends primarily on clarification of matters of language. appetite: (1) as a most general term, a synonym for affectivity; (2) as used more particularly, a natural seeking, whether sensory (as in a drive or instinct ) or intellectual (as in the human mind’s appetite for truth). argument: instance of explicit reasoning, whether deductive or inductive. atheism: position holding that God does not exist. beauty: transcendental property of being according to which, when a thing is perceived or understood, it awakens delight. being: (1) that which is—e.g., in the natural world, substances with their features or accidents; (2) the transcendental perfection by which each thing is; (3) the act of existing; (4) in the phrase “being as being,” the formal subject matter of metaphysics. biblicism: view holding that all knowledge about being, persons, and God is available in the Bible, without recourse to natural reason. cardinal virtues: virtues that are the “hinges” (Latin cardines) of the whole moral life; traditionally listed as prudence, justice, fortitude or courage, and temperance. category: most basic type of being; identified by followers of Aristotle and Aquinas as substance plus nine types of accidents (quantity, quality, relation , etc.). causality: real relation of dependency between or among beings. central (also common) sense: internal sense power whereby discrete data from the external senses are composed into whole sensory objects (a tree, a man, etc.). change: any type of coming to be (or becoming) of formed matter; “the actualization of what exists in potency insofar as it remains in potency” (Aristotle ). choice: ultimate movement of the will, focused on a concrete act. Christian philosophy: approach to philosophy which, while respecting the discipline’s proper autonomy, receives inspiration from the practitioner’s Christian faith. civil society: large-scale community of persons organized for the purpose of securing common goods such as public defense, public order, and the fulfillment (to the extent possible) of the basic human needs of all citizens. 282 glossary cognition: see knowledge or cognition. common good: good of community life such that it is both a good of each member and at the same time a good of all (e.g., in a family, the good of mutual love and concern). common sense: (1) see central sense; (2) set of beliefs, opinions, views, etc.— often unarticulated—that can be attributed to the human understanding in its untutored or pre-theoretical state. community: social group that is bound together by a set of common goods, and that has some system of authority for the pursuit of those goods. complementarity or mutuality: relation whereby two types of being (e.g., male and female) have a specific natural orientation toward joint action, or toward contributing to each other’s fulfillment. comprehensive good: the good as such; or the good understood as that which would be fulfilling in all respects. concept: product of...