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1. Concept Traditionally “aesthetics” has been defined as the science of the beautiful. The word comes from the Gk. adjective aisthētikē (from the verb aisthanomai, meaning “perceive, experience”), with which a noun is understood such as technē (art) or epistēmē (knowledge). Aisthētikē epistēmē was thus originally the science of perception. Then the adjective took on the sense of giving direct pleasure in contemplation or imagination—that is, beautiful, charming, and so forth. A. Baumgarten (1714–62) first used the term “aesthetics” to denote the science …

Gk. aporia literally denotes the absence of a way. In a figurative sense it stands for a difficulty, principally one in philosophy. An aporia arises when in a philosophical argument a material or conceptual contradiction appears. According to Plato (427–347 b.c.), the fundamental aporia of human knowledge is that we cannot possibly engage in the search for truth ( Meno 80D-81E), for either we know the truth and do not need to seek it, or we do not know it and do not know where or how to seek it (Platonism). For many thinkers (e.g., S. Kierkegaard and M. Polanyi), this Platonic aporia h…

The term “axiom” comes from the Gk. axioō (deem worthy), a verb the Greeks used in many senses. From the time of Aristotle (384–322 b.c.) it became a technical term to denote logical and philosophical principles that one accepts without further proof (Aristotelianism). Conclusions must follow from premises, which must themselves be proved. But since this process could go on forever, we must start with certain basic principles, or axioms, for which one cannot ask for further proof. Traditionally a distinction has been made between axioms, which must be self-evident if th…

1. Etymology and History 1.1. The term “dialectic” comes from the Greek phrase hē dialektikē technē or epistēmē (the art or knowledge of discussion by question and answer), and specifically, the verb dialegomai (discuss, dispute). In Plato (Platonism) dialectic is thus the knowledge that is achieved by (Socratic) dialogue. In contrast, Aristotle (Aristotelianism) opposed the apodictic proofs of analytic to the probability proofs of dialectic. Ever since, the term has been ambiguous. In the Middle Ages it was often equated…

1. Philosophy The term “dogmatism” was coined in French philosophy and was understood by M. de Montaigne and B. Pascal as the opposite of skepticism. Dogmatism denotes the uncritical appeal to a doctrine whose truth has not been demonstrated and whose presuppositions have not been adequately evaluated. Thus the German Enlightenment saw dogmatism ¶ in the pedantic metaphysics of the schools that built on principles that were part of an outdated philosophical approach. Of the many meanings of the term “dogma,” dogmatism stresses the pejorative one of an unproved opinion. In the epistem…