Philosophy for Heroes Dictionary PART I + II: KNOWLEDGE + CONTINUUM Published by Clemens Lode Verlag e.K., Düsseldorf www.philosophy-for-heroes.com This book is a collection of definitions from the firsttwo books of Philosophy for Heroes: ii At its core, Philosophy for Heroes is about vulnerability and the strength that can arise from that. Vulnerability does not mean sui- cide. We all can encounter or even search situations where we can sacrifice our lives for a “greater cause.” Instead, vulnerability means being alive. But it also means to not go into the opposite extreme and think of yourself as all powerful, omniscience, and infinite. We all have finite bodies and various weaknesses. We have to acknowl- edge that, we have to acknowledge that we are limited. But that limitation also means that we have a unique identity. Discovering this unique identity is what Philosophy for Heroes is all about: to know who you are, how the world works, and ultimately, how you can or should act. This booklet is a list of all the terms used in the book series foreasy reference and as a companion booklet. In the books, after an intro- duction to ideas of heroism, the first chapter is about the founda- tions of knowledge: the ontology (“What is?”) and epistemology (“How do we know?”) of philosophy. Next comes an introduction to linguistics from the ground up. What questions can be asked and which questions should not? What are complete languages? Is our language complete? With this foundation, we move on to the second book and use the formal base of the first two chapters to discuss the scientific method and current discoveries in quantum physics about the very fabric of our existence. From the ashes of supernovae, solar systems and planets formed. How did organic life emerged from anorganic matter? Understanding what kind of act this required gives us an idea about our relationship to the universe. With a focus on evolution, this chapter also explains the origins of human creativity and compares it with the creativity of nature. The terms for book 3 (“Act”) and 4 (“Epos”) will be added oncetheyare finished. Stay tuned for updates in the newsletter! ii 1 My Philosophy Cargo cult · A cargo cult refers to the behavior where some- one tries to imitate certain aspects of another (successful) person, expecting the same success. For example, celebrities are often on TV but just by managing to get yourself on TV, you will not nec- essarily become a celebrity. Entity · An entity is a “thing” with properties (an identity). For example, a plant produces oxygen, a stone has a hard surface, etc.). Identity · An identity is the sum total of all properties of an en- tity (e.g., weight: 160 pounds, length: 6 feet, has a consciousness, etc.). Property · A property refers to the manner in which an entity (or a process) affects other entities (or other processes) in a certain situation (e.g., mass, position, length, name, velocity, etc.). Configuration of a property · The configuration of a prop- erty relates to the intensity of a certain property of an entity. Effect · An effect is the change caused to the configuration of the properties of an entity (e.g., the heating of water changes its temperature). Process · A process describes the mechanism of a cause working to an effect (e.g., if you put an ice cube into a glass of water,the cooling of the water is the process). 1 2 Chapter 1 My Philosophy Free will · Free will refers to the faculty to be able to reflect on our cognition, i.e., to be not determined by external influences. The more one knows about and is aware of what influences him, the more free his will. Fallacy of the stolen concept · The fallacy of the stolen concept refers to the fact that in the refutation of a statement, the statement itself cannot (implicitly or explicitly) be a part of the refutation. We cannot argue against our existence because the act of arguing presupposes that very existence.1 Axiom · An axiom is a self-evident truth (e.g., “Something ex- ists”). Self-evident statement · A self-evident statement is a state- ment whose reasoning is contained within itself (e.g., the estab- lishment of the axiom of existence necessitates the very same ex- istence). Axiom of existence · The axiom of existence states that some- thing exists. Without existence, there would be no entities. Par- ticularly, there would be no interactions between entities, no per- ception, and, for this reason, no knowledge; a line of reasoning for this axiom would not be possible. Axiom of identity · The axiom of identity states that some- thing exists. Without this axiom, “entities” could possibly exist, but they would have no identity and, for this reason, would like- wise possess no properties. In such a reality, it follows that no perception or knowledge would be possible either; particularly, we could not form arguments against the axiom of identity: with- out identity, statements in general would be impossible because they, too, would have no identity—no statement. In Objectivism, this axiom is also designated as “A is A”: every identity has defi- nite properties and no others. Consciousness · With our consciousness, we can become con- scious about something, therefore, it is the process that emerges from the faculty of an entity to reflect on and to perceive oneself and other entities and their properties (cognition). 2 3 Axiom of consciousness · The axiom of consciousness states that we can become aware of our existence, our identity, and the external world. Sense organ · A sense organ is an entity (e.g., an eye, a nose, an ear, etc.) that is connected to another entity with cognition, and that can register effects of different intensities of properties. Sense data · Sense data is information, converted to a form usable by cognition, about an effect registered by a sensory or- gan. Sense perception · Our perceptual faculty is the filtering, and association of sense data. This happens automatically with our sensory organs. Further filtering and association of those sense perceptions happens during the cognitive process (our conscious- ness). Qualia · The individual instances of conscious experience of sense data are called qualia. Self-reference (recursion) · If a statement or a process ref- erences itself, it is called recursion. Examples would be “Read the sentence you are now reading again” (recursive statement), two opposing mirrors in which the images mirror until infinity (recur- sive process), cell division where a new cell is created that divides itself as well (likewise a recursive process), etc. Cognition · Cognition is the faculty for processing and correct- ing qualia, generating and applying knowledge, changing prefer- ences, as well as reflecting on the process of cognition itself. The result of the process of cognition is consciousness. Perception · Perception is the whole process of sense percep- tion combined with cognition. Category · A category is the mental correlation between enti- ties. 3 4 Chapter 1 My Philosophy Concept · A concept is a category that is delineated by a defini- tion, and determined by the nature of the entity. Cause · A cause refers to the entity that has or had an effect on another entity (e.g., the ice cube in the glass is the cause for the drink having gotten cold). Causality · Causality refers to the effect of one or several en- tities on another entity in a certain situation (e.g., an accident is no random occurrence, there are one or several causes which led to the accident, such as lack of sleep, a technical defect, poor visibility, etc.). Aggregate · An aggregate is a number of entities that have a reciprocal effect on one another, so that they can be considered collectively as their own entity (e.g., a cup full of water—all water molecules interact with each other). Structure · A structure is a description of required proper- ties, dependencies, and arrangement of a number of entities (e.g., cube-shaped). System · A system is an aggregate with a definite structure (e.g., an ice cube is a system of frozen water molecules). Pointer · A pointer can be a word, picture, gesture, etc. that “points” to one or more entities. It can be used in their place, e.g., if you “point” to a specific apple by saying “this apple,” youdo not have to actually take the apple in your hand to make it clear about which apple you are speaking. Term · A term is the name of a concept (e.g., as a word or fixed word combination, such as “goods and services” or “in a jiffy”). Every concept has a term pointing to it, but not every term is a concept (e.g., conjunctions like “and”). Definition · A definition is the possible demarcation of a num- ber of entities by means of perceptions, concepts, and axioms (e.g., grass is a “plant,” a “living organism” which uses “photosyn- thesis.”) It consists of a list of properties and processes of enti- ties (cf. Rand, Binswanger, and Peikoff, Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology, pp. 71–74) in question. 4 5 Integration · Integration is the classification of perceived enti- ties into one or several concepts, as well as classification of exist- ing concepts into more general concepts or a concept hierarchy (e.g., the classification of a perceived sound wave as a definite word, or classification of the concept “human” into the more gen- eral concept “life-form”). Contradiction · A contradiction can result from a (possibly erroneous) logical integration. This becomes visible when the corresponding concept has a property while not having it at the same time (such as an invisible pink unicorn, boiling ice, a full empty cup, etc.).