📚 Cambridge A Level Philosophy: Key Terms Memory Guide | 剑桥A Level哲学：关键术语速记指南
Mastering sophisticated philosophical vocabulary is essential for success in Year 13 Cambridge A Level Philosophy. This bilingual guide presents pivotal terms from epistemology, ethics, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of religion with clear English explanations followed by matching Chinese translations, plus mnemonic cues to help you remember and apply them fluently in essays.
掌握精密的哲学词汇是 Year 13 剑桥 A Level 哲学成功的关键。这份双语指南从认识论、伦理学、心灵哲学和宗教哲学中精选核心术语，提供清晰的英文解释和对应的中文翻译，并附有记忆提示，帮助你在论文中流畅回忆与运用。
1. A Priori / A Posteriori | 先验 / 后验
A priori knowledge is justified independently of sense experience, relying solely on reason. Mathematics and logical truths are standard examples: we know that 2+2=4 without conducting experiments. A posteriori knowledge, by contrast, depends on empirical evidence gathered through the senses, such as knowing that water boils at 100°C at sea level.
先验知识的辩护不需要依赖感官经验，仅凭理性。数学和逻辑真理是标准例子：我们无需实验就知道 2+2=4。相反，后验知识依赖于通过感官收集的经验证据，例如知道水在海平面 100°C 沸腾。
Memory aid: Think of ‘prior’ to experience (a priori) and ‘post’ experience (a posteriori).
记忆提示：将 ‘a priori’ 看作经验之 “先”，’a posteriori’ 看作经验之 “后”。
2. Analytic / Synthetic | 分析 / 综合
An analytic statement is true purely in virtue of the meanings of its words; the predicate is contained within the subject. ‘All bachelors are unmarried’ is analytic because ‘unmarried’ is part of the definition of ‘bachelor’. A synthetic statement is true or false depending on how the world is; its predicate adds new information. ‘The cat is on the mat’ is synthetic, requiring observation.
分析陈述的真仅依赖于词语的含义；谓词已包含在主词之中。”所有单身汉都是未婚的” 是分析陈述，因为 “未婚” 是 “单身汉” 定义的一部分。综合陈述的真假取决于世界的状况；其谓词增添了新信息。”猫在垫子上” 是综合陈述，需要观察才能判断。
Memory aid: ‘Analytic’ – analyse the word meaning; ‘Synthetic’ – synthesise with facts about the world.
记忆提示：”分析” 即分析词义；”综合” 是要结合世界事实进行综合。
3. Necessary / Contingent | 必然 / 偶然
A necessary truth is one that could not have been false in any possible world, such as ‘Triangles have three sides’. A contingent truth is one that is true in the actual world but could have been otherwise, such as ‘Paris is the capital of France’ – it might have been Lyon. In metaphysics, God’s existence is often argued to be necessary if God exists at all.
必然真理是在任何可能世界中都不为假的真理，如 “三角形有三条边”。偶然真理在现实世界中为真，但本可能为假，比如 “巴黎是法国的首都”——里昂本可能成为首都。在形而上学中，常论证如果上帝存在，其存在就是必然的。
Memory aid: Necessary = No alternative possible; Contingent = Could have been different.
记忆提示：必然 = 没有其他可能；偶然 = 本可能不同。
4. Rationalism / Empiricism | 理性主义 / 经验主义
Rationalism holds that reason is the primary source of knowledge, and that we can have substantive a priori knowledge about the world. Key rationalists include Descartes, who sought to build knowledge from innate ideas. Empiricism claims that all our concepts and knowledge ultimately derive from sense experience. Locke argued the mind is a tabula rasa at birth, and Hume pushed empiricism to sceptical conclusions about causation and the self.
理性主义认为理性是知识的主要来源，我们能拥有关于世界的实质性先验知识。主要理性主义者包括笛卡尔，他试图从天赋观念出发构建知识。经验主义主张所有概念和知识最终都来自感官经验。洛克主张心灵出生时是一块白板，休谟将经验主义推向对因果关系和自我的怀疑结论。
Memory aid: Rationalism = Reason rules; Empiricism = Experience explains.
记忆提示：理性主义 = 理性主宰；经验主义 = 经验说明一切。
5. Foundationalism / Coherentism | 基础主义 / 连贯主义
Foundationalism is a theory of epistemic justification: beliefs are justified if they rest on basic, self‑evident beliefs that need no further justification. Descartes’ ‘I think, therefore I am’ serves as a foundational belief. Coherentism rejects basic beliefs and argues that justification is a matter of how well a belief coheres with the whole system of beliefs, like a web where each node supports others.
基础主义是一种认知辩护理论：如果信念建立在不需要进一步辩护的基本、自明的信念之上，它们就得到辩护。笛卡尔的 “我思故我在” 就是基础信念。连贯主义拒绝基础信念，主张辩护在于信念与整个信念系统的融贯程度，就像一张网，每个节点相互支撑。
Memory aid: Foundationalism – building on a secure base; Coherentism – all parts hanging together consistently.
记忆提示：基础主义——建在牢固地基上；连贯主义——所有部分一致地挂在一起。
6. Dualism / Physicalism | 二元论 / 物理主义
Substance dualism asserts that the mind and the body are two distinct substances: the mental is non‑physical and the body is physical. Descartes’ interactionist dualism faces the problem of explaining how they interact. Physicalism argues that everything, including the mind, is ultimately physical. Identity theory claims mental states are identical to brain states; functionalism defines mental states by their causal roles.
实体二元论断言心灵和身体是两种不同的实体：心灵是非物理的，身体是物理的。笛卡尔的互动二元论面临如何解释二者互动的难题。物理主义主张一切包括心灵最终都是物理的。同一论声称心理状态等同于大脑状态；功能主义则通过因果角色定义心理状态。
Memory aid: Dualism = two kinds of stuff; Physicalism = only one physical stuff.
记忆提示：二元论 = 两种东西；物理主义 = 只有一种物理的东西。
7. Utilitarianism / Deontology | 功利主义 / 义务论
Utilitarianism is a consequentialist ethical theory that evaluates actions by their outcomes, aiming to maximise overall happiness or utility. Bentham’s act utilitarianism uses the hedonic calculus, while Mill distinguishes higher and lower pleasures. Deontology, associated with Kant, holds that the rightness of an action depends on its conformity to moral rules or duties, not consequences. The categorical imperative commands that we act only on maxims that we could will as universal laws.
功利主义是一种后果论伦理学，根据行动的结果来评价行为，旨在最大化总体幸福或效用。边沁的行动功利主义使用快乐计算，密尔则区分高级和低级快乐。义务论，与康德相联系，认为行为的正确性取决于其是否遵循道德规则或义务，而非后果。绝对命令要求我们只按照能成为普遍法则的准则行动。
Memory aid: Utilitarianism – Useful outcomes; Deontology – Duty-based rules.
记忆提示：功利主义——看有用结果；义务论——以义务为规则。
8. Moral Realism / Anti-Realism | 道德实在论 / 反实在论
Moral realism claims that moral properties and facts exist mind‑independently and that moral judgments can be objectively true or false. Naturalism reduces moral properties to natural properties (e.g., pleasure); non‑naturalism posits sui generis moral facts. Moral anti‑realism denies objective moral facts. Emotivism (Ayer) says moral statements merely express emotions; error theory (Mackie) claims all positive moral judgments are false because no moral properties exist.
道德实在论主张道德属性和事实独立于心灵存在，道德判断可以客观地为真或假。自然主义将道德属性还原为自然属性（如快乐）；非自然主义设定独特的道德事实。道德反实在论否定客观道德事实。情感主义（艾耶尔）说道德陈述只是表达情感；错误论（麦凯）声称所有肯定性道德判断都是假的，因为不存在道德属性。
Memory aid: Realism – Reality has moral features; Anti‑realism – morality is not ‘out there’ in the world.
记忆提示：实在论——现实中存在道德特征；反实在论——道德不在世界 “那儿”。
9. Free Will / Determinism | 自由意志 / 决定论
Determinism is the thesis that every event, including human actions, is causally necessitated by prior events and the laws of nature. Hard determinists conclude free will is an illusion. Libertarians argue we have free will, which requires indeterminism and agent causation. Compatibilism (soft determinism) holds that free will is compatible with determinism if we act according to our desires without external coercion.
决定论命题：每个事件，包括人类行为，都由先前事件和自然法则因果必然地决定。硬决定论者得出结论自由意志是幻觉。自由意志论者论证我们拥有自由意志，这需要非决定论和行动者因果。相容论（温和决定论）认为，如果我们根据自己的欲望行动而不受外部强制，自由意志就与决定论相容。
Memory aid: Hard determinism = no freedom; Libertarianism = genuine free choice; Compatibilism = freedom despite determinism.
记忆提示：硬决定论 = 无自由；自由意志论 = 真正 free choice；相容论 = 决定之下仍有自由。
10. The Problem of Evil | 恶的问题
The logical problem of evil challenges the coherence of an omnipotent, omnibenevolent God in a world containing evil and suffering. J.L. Mackie argued the three propositions – God is omnipotent, God is wholly good, and evil exists – form an inconsistent triad. The evidential problem points to the sheer amount and distribution of pointless suffering as strong evidence against God’s existence. Swinburne’s greater‑good theodicy appeals to free will and soul‑making.
恶的逻辑问题挑战：如果世界存在恶与苦难，全能、全善的上帝是否具有一致性。麦凯论证三个命题——上帝全能、上帝全善、恶存在——构成不一致的三元组。恶的证据问题指出大量无意义的苦难的存在方式和分配，构成了反对上帝存在的有力证据。斯温伯恩的更大善的神义论诉诸自由意志和灵魂塑造。
Memory aid: Inconsistent triad – can’t have all three; evidential evil – massive pointless suffering.
记忆提示：不一致三元组——三者不可兼得；证据恶——大量无端苦难。
11. Verification / Falsification | 证实 / 证伪
The verification principle, championed by the logical positivists, holds that a statement is meaningful only if it is analytically true or empirically verifiable. Religious language was declared meaningless because ‘God exists’ cannot be verified. Ayer distinguished strong and weak verification. Antony Flew’s falsification principle uses Wisdom’s parable of the gardener to argue that religious claims die the ‘death of a thousand qualifications’ because believers allow nothing to count against them, rendering claims unfalsifiable and cognitively empty.
证实原则由逻辑实证主义者倡导，主张一个陈述只有是分析真或可经验证实时才有意义。宗教语言被宣布为无意义，因为 “上帝存在” 无法证实。艾耶尔区分了强证实和弱证实。安东尼·弗卢的证伪原则使用 Wisdom 的园丁寓言，论证宗教主张因信徒不容许任何反证而 “死于千次限定”，使得主张不可证伪且在认知上是空洞的。
Memory aid: Verification – must be checkable by senses; Falsification – must be able to show it’s false.
记忆提示：证实——必须能被感官检验；证伪——必须能显示它为假。
12. Natural Law / Divine Command Theory | 自然法 / 神命论
Natural law theory, rooted in Aristotle and developed by Aquinas, holds that morality is grounded in human nature and reason. The primary precepts (preserving life, reproduction, knowledge, society, worship) guide us toward our God‑given telos. Divine command theory, by contrast, claims that moral rightness consists in God’s commands; an act is right because God commands it. This faces the Euthyphro dilemma: is something good because God commands it, or does God command it because it is good?
自然法理论源于亚里士多德并由阿奎那发展，主张道德根植于人的本性和理性。首要诫命（保存生命、繁衍、求知、社会生活、敬拜）引导我们走向上帝赋予的目的。神命论则相反，声称道德正确性在于上帝的命令；一个行为是正当的因为上帝这样命令。这面临尤西弗罗困境：某事是善的因为上帝命令它，还是上帝命令它因为它本来就是善的？
Memory aid: Natural law – follow nature’s moral order; Divine command – God’s will decides right.
记忆提示：自然法——遵循自然的道德秩序；神命论——上帝的意志决定对错。
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