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Glossary of Philosophy Terms beginning with letter E
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E noun eclectic noun Someone who selects according to the eclectic method. adjective Unrelated and unspecialized. Crossing a range or mixture of specialties. Selecting a mixture of what appear to be best of various doctrines, methods, or styles. egoism noun Excessive love and thought of self; the habit of regarding one's self as the center of every interest. Considered by Objectivists to be an antonym of "egotist," and has the meaning "rational self-interest." egoist noun an egocentric or self-centered person; an egotist an advocate of egoism In Objectivist philosophy, a person exhibiting "rational self-interest." egoistic adverb (egoistical) self-absorbed; selfish. Pertaining to egoism; imbued with egoism or excessive thoughts of self; self-loving. eidetic adjective Pertaining to a memory or mental image of perfect clarity, as though actually visible; or to a person able to see such memories. 1979: "Funny that I should remember it? I have an memory for numbers, can't help it. " Kyril Bonfiglioli, After You with the Pistol (Penguin 2001, p. 276) 1993: Eidetic images are pictures in the head. They are internal images that have the full force of conventional vision, but which are retained solely in the mind of the eidetiker. " Will Self, My Idea of Fun eidolon noun An image or representation of an idea; a representation of an ideal form; an apparition of some actual or imaginary entity, or of some aspect of reality. 1936, Henry Miller, Black Spring: :As a species it is extinct; as an it retains its corporeality " but only if maintained in a state of equipoise. 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage 2007, p.697: :Kit was sitting up staring into the dark at this , inelegantly turned out contrary to a whole raft of public-decency statutes, which had come monitory and breathing in to violate Kit's insomnia. empiricism noun A pursuit of knowledge purely through experience, especially by means of observation and sometimes by experimentation. 1885, Gerard F. Cobb, "Musical Psychics," Proceedings of the Musical Association, 11th Session, p. 119, :Our whole life in some of its highest and most important aspects is simply . Empiricism is only another word for experience. 1951 January 1, Albert Einstein, letter to Maurice Solovine, as published in Letters to Solovine (1993), :I have found no better expression than "religious" for confidence in the rational nature of reality.... Whenever this feeling is absent, science degenerates into uninspired . 2001, Mark Zimmermann, "The Stillness of Painting: Robert Kingston and His Contemporaries," PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art, vol. 23, no. 3 (Sep), p. 71, :Painting needs no explanation or apology. This most religious of art forms belies the pathetic empiricisms of contemporary discussions. (context, medicine, dated) A practice of medicine founded on mere experience, without the aid of science or a knowledge of principles; ignorant and unscientific practice; the method or practice of an empiric. 1990 Alison Klairmont Lingo, "Review of Professional and Popular Medicine in France, 1770-1830 by Matthew Ramsey," Journal of Social History, vol. 23, no. 3 (Spring), p. 607, :Even at the height of its popularity, medical was the creature of a most unforgiving free market economy. Successful practioners seduced crowds as well as public officials. (philosophy) A doctrine which holds that the only or, at least, the most reliable source of human knowledge is experience, especially perception by means of the physical senses. (Often contrasted with rationalism.) 1893 James Seth, "The Truth of Empiricism." The Philosophical Review, vol. 2, no. 5 (Sep.), p. 552, :Empiricism teaches us that we are unceasingly and intimately in contact with a full, living, breathing Reality, that experience is a constant communion with the real. 1950 Virgil Hinshaw, Jr., "Review of Socratic Method and Critical Philosophy, Selected Essays by Leonard Nelson," Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, vol. 11, no. 2 (Dec.), p. 285, :He agrees with Kant that Hume's is refuted de facto by the example of mathematics, whose judgments are synthetic a priori. 1958 Ernest A. Moody, "Empiricism and Metaphysics in Medieval Philosophy," The Philosophical Review, vol. 67, no. 2 (Apr.), p. 151, : Empiricism is the doctrine that human knowledge is grounded on the kind of experience, mostly achieved through the five senses, whose objects are particular events occurring at particular times and in particular places. end noun Extreme part. Extreme line. Death. Result. Purpose. (cricket) One of the two parts of the ground used as a descriptive name for half of the ground. The Pavillion End The position at the end of either the offensive or defensive line, a tight end, a split end, a defensive end. (curling) A period of play in which each team throws 8 rocks, 2 per player, in alternating fashion. verb (intransitive): To finish, terminate. Is this movie ever going to ? (transitive): To finish, terminate. ens noun Plural of en. entelechy noun (entelech, ies) A particular type of motivation, need for self-determination, and inner strength directing life and growth to become all one is capable of being. It is the need to actualize one's beliefs. It is having a personal vision and being able to actualize that vision from within. Aristotelian philosophy. A conception completely actualized. Something complex that emerges when you put a large number of simple objects together. enthymeme noun (plural enthymemes) (logic) A syllogism with a required but unstated assumption. epicurean noun one who is devoted to pleasure adjective pursuing pleasure devoted to luxurious live, living relating to Epicurus Epicureanism noun A system of philosophy based upon the teachings of w:Epicurus, Epicurus (c. 340"c. 270 BC). A love or knowledge of enjoyment, especially of good food and drink. epistemology noun (epistemolog, ies) (context, not countable) The branch of philosophy dealing with the study of knowledge; theory of knowledge. Some thinkers believe that, beginning with the work of Descartes, began to replace metaphysics as the most important area of philosophy. (countable) A particular theory of knowledge. In his , Plato maintains that our knowledge of universal concepts is a kind of recollection. equivocation noun a logical fallacy resulting from the use of multiple meanings of a single expression the use of expressions susceptible of a double signification, possibly intentionally and with the aim of misleading esoteric adjective Understood only by a chosen few or an enlightened inner circle. ''Many Wikipedians are glad that the wikipedia:Sum of absolute transformed differences, Sum of absolute transformed differences was not the 2,000,000th article, because it would've been too to adequately celebrate. Fortunately, it was article 2,000,001, while wikipedia:El Hormiguero, El Hormiguero, a Spanish comedy show, was the 2,000,000th. Having to do with concepts that are highly theoretical and without obvious practical application. confidential, Confidential; private. esthetic adjective alternative spelling of aesthetic eternal adjective Lasting forever; unending. ethical noun An ethical drug. adjective (more) (context, philosophy, not comparable) Of or relating to the study of ethics. The philosopher Kant is particularly known for his writings. (not comparable) Of or relating to the accepted principles of right and wrong, especially those of some organization or profession. All employees must familiarize themselves with our guidelines. (comparable) morally, Morally approvable; good. We are trying decide what the most course of action would be. (context, of a drug, not comparable) Only dispensed on the prescription of a physician. In most jurisdictions, morphine is classified as an drug. ethics noun (philosophy) The study of principles relating to right and wrong conduct. Morality. The standards that govern the conduct of a person, especially a member of a profession. eudemonia noun alternately eudaimonia, eudaemonia A state of pleasant well-being. The greatest good for an individual human being: a state of excellence characterized by objective flourishing across a lifetime, and brought about through the exercise of moral virtue, practical wisdom, and rationality existentialism noun (context, philosophy, not countable) A twentieth-century philosophical movement emphasizing the uniqueness of each human existence in freely making its self-defining choices, with foundations in the thought of Soren Kierkegaard (1813-55) and Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) and notably represented in the works of Karl Jaspers (1883-1969), Gabriel Marcel (1887-1973), Martin Heidegger (1889-1976), and Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-80). The heyday of occurred in the mid-twentieth century. (context, philosophy, countable) The philosophical views of a particular thinker associated with the existentialist movement. Sartre's is atheistic, but the of Marcel is distinctly Christian. 1965, Mikel Dufrenne, "Existentialism and Existentialisms," Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, vol 26 no 1 (Sep), p. 51. : Instead of Existentialism, we should speak of Existentialisms. existential quantifier noun (plural existential quantifiers) (logic) The operator, represented by the symbol âˆƒ, used in predicate calculus to indicate that a predicate is true for at least one member of a specified set. Some verbal equivalents are "there exists" or "there is". experience noun Event(s) of which one is cognizant. Activity which one has performed. Collection of events and/or activities from which an individual or group may gather knowledge, opinions, and skills. verb (experienc, ing) (transitive): To observe certain events; undergo a certain feeling or process; or perform certain actions that may alter one or contribute to one's knowledge, opinions, or skills. extension noun The act of extending or the state of being extended; a stretching out; enlargement in breadth or continuation of length; increase; augmentation; expansion. That property of a body by which it occupies a portion of space (or time, e.g. "spatiotemporal extension") Capacity of a concept or general term to include a greater or smaller number of objects; -- correlative of intension. Synonymous with denotation. A written engagement on the part of a creditor, allowing a debtor further time to pay a debt. The operation of stretching a broken bone so as to bring the fragments into the same straight line. (weightlifting) An exercise in which an arm or leg is straightened against resistance. (fencing) A simple offensive action, consisting of extending the weapon arm forward. A numerical code used to specify a specific telephone in a telecommunication network. extent noun range, Range of values or locations. The space, area, volume etc. to which something extends. The of his knowledge of the language is a few scattered words. (context, computing): An individual database extension. external adjective outside of something extreme noun The greatest or utmost point, degree or condition Each of the things at opposite ends of a range or scale. extremes of temperature A drastic expedient. (mathematics) Either of the two numbers at the ends of a proportion, as 1 and 6 in 1:2=3:6. adjective Of a place, the most remote, farthest or outermost. At the edges, the coating is very thin. In the greatest or highest degree; intense. He has an aversion to needles, and avoids visiting the doctor. Excessive, or far beyond the norm. His love of model trains showed in the rails that criscrossed his entire home. Drastic, or of great severity. I think the new laws are , but many believe them necessary for national security. Of sports, difficult or dangerous; performed in a hazardous environment. Television has begun to reflect the growing popularity of sports such as bungee jumping and skateboarding. (archaic) Ultimate, final or last.

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