📚 A-Level AQA Philosophy: Key Terminology Quick Revision Guide | A-Level AQA 哲学:词汇术语速记指南
Mastering philosophical terminology is the fastest way to sharpen your essays and boost your marks in AQA A-Level Philosophy. This guide walks you through the high-yield terms from Epistemology, Moral Philosophy, Metaphysics of God and Metaphysics of Mind, pairing every definition with a clear Chinese parallel and a memory-friendly anchor. Use it as a daily warm-up or a last-minute check before the exam.
掌握哲学术语是在 AQA A-Level 哲学考试中迅速提分的捷径。本文梳理了认识论、道德哲学、上帝形而上学与心灵形而上学四大试卷的高频术语,每个定义均配有清晰的中文对应和便于记忆的锚点,适合每日温习或考前速查。
1. Why Terminology Matters | 为何术语是得分关键
AQA mark schemes explicitly reward candidates who deploy technical vocabulary with precision. Terms such as ‘a priori’, ‘categorical imperative’ and ‘qualia’ are not decorative – they compress complex arguments into exam-friendly phrases. Without them, even a thoughtful response can drift into vagueness and lose the sharpness expected at A-Level.
AQA 评分标准明确鼓励精准使用专业术语。“先验”、“定言命令”、“感质”等词汇并非装饰,而是将复杂论证压缩为便于考官识别的钥匙。缺少它们,再深思熟虑的答案也会显得模糊,丢掉 A-Level 所要求的锐度。
2. Epistemology: Core Terms | 认识论核心术语
Knowledge as Justified True Belief (JTB) – The tripartite definition: S knows that p if and only if p is true, S believes that p, and S is justified in believing that p. This originates in Plato’s Theaetetus.
知识即被辩护的真信念 (JTB) – 三元定义:主体 S 知道命题 p,当且仅当 p 为真、S 相信 p 且 S 有理由相信 p。该定义源自柏拉图的《泰阿泰德篇》。
Gettier cases – Edmund Gettier’s 1963 counterexamples in which a belief is true and justified purely by luck, challenging the sufficiency of JTB. Classic example: Smith believes ‘the man who will get the job has ten coins in his pocket’ based on strong evidence, yet Gettier shows this can be true without being knowledge.
盖梯尔案例 – 埃德蒙·盖梯尔在 1963 年提出的反例,指出一个信念可以偶然为真且被辩护,从而表明 JTB 不是知识的充分条件。经典例子:史密斯有充分证据相信“将要得到工作的人口袋里有十枚硬币”,但最终这一信念虽真却并非知识。
A priori – Knowledge justified independently of sense experience, such as ‘2+2=4’. In Kant’s framework, a priori cognitions do not rely on any particular experience.
先验 – 独立于感官经验而获得辩护的知识,例如“2+2=4”。在康德框架下,先验认识不依赖任何特定经验。
A posteriori – Knowledge justified only through experience, e.g. ‘Water boils at 100°C at sea level.’ Empiricists hold that all substantive knowledge is a posteriori.
后验 – 仅凭经验才能辩护的知识,如“水在海平面 100°C 沸腾”。经验论者认为一切实质知识皆为后验。
Analytic proposition – A statement true in virtue of the meanings of its terms: ‘All bachelors are unmarried.’ The predicate is contained within the subject.
分析命题 – 仅凭词项意义即为真的命题,如“所有单身汉都未婚”,谓词概念已包含在主词之中。
Synthetic proposition – A statement in which the predicate adds something not contained in the subject: ‘The cat is on the mat.’ Its truth depends on how the world is.
综合命题 – 谓词向主词添加了未包含之物的命题,如“猫在垫子上”,其真值取决于世界状况。
Direct realism – The view that the immediate objects of perception are mind-independent physical objects and their properties. It faces the challenge of illusion and hallucination.
直接实在论 – 认为知觉的直接对象是独立于心灵的外部物体及其属性的观点,需应对错觉与幻觉的挑战。
Indirect realism – The theory that we perceive physical objects indirectly via sense-data: what we are immediately aware of is a mental representation caused by the object. Championed by John Locke.
间接实在论 – 认为我们通过感觉材料间接感知物体的理论:直接意识到的是物体造成的心理表象。代表人物洛克。
Idealism (Berkeley) – The radical claim that the only things that exist are minds and their ideas; physical objects are collections of ideas. Esse est percipi – to be is to be perceived.
观念论(贝克莱) – 彻底主张:存在的只有心灵及其观念,物体无非是观念的集合。存在即被感知。
Innate ideas – Ideas present in the mind from birth, not derived from experience. Descartes argued for the innate idea of God via the trademark argument.
天赋观念 – 与生俱来、不来自经验的观念。笛卡尔通过“商标论证”主张上帝观念是天赋的。
3. Moral Philosophy: Core Terms | 道德哲学核心术语
Utilitarianism – The consequentialist theory that an action is right if it maximises overall happiness. Bentham’s version uses the hedonic calculus; Mill introduces higher and lower pleasures.
功利主义 – 一种后果论,主张行为正当在于最大化总体幸福。边沁版视快乐为可计算的量,密尔引入高、低级快乐之分。
Hedonic Calculus – Bentham’s seven-factor measure of pleasure: intensity, duration, certainty, propinquity, fecundity, purity and extent. Reminder: People Prefer Intense, Certain, Pure Pleasures Every time (Initial mnemonic).
快乐计算法 – 边沁衡量快乐的七个因子:强度、时长、确定度、邻近度、丰产性、纯度和范围。记忆诀窍:强度高、时间长、确定无疑、近在眼前、纯而多产的快乐人人偏好。
Act vs Rule Utilitarianism – Act utilitarianism judges individual actions by their consequences; rule utilitarianism judges actions by whether they follow rules that tend to maximise happiness. Mill is often read as a rule utilitarian.
行为功利主义与规则功利主义 – 行为功利主义按单次行为后果判断;规则功利主义按遵守那些倾向于促进最大幸福的规则来判断。密尔常被解读为规则功利主义者。
Categorical Imperative (Kant) – A command of reason that applies unconditionally, irrespective of our desires. First formulation: ‘Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.’
定言命令(康德) – 理性无条件的命令,不取决于任何欲求。第一公式:“只按照你同时能够愿意它成为一条普遍法则的那个准则去行动。”
Maxim – The subjective principle or rule on which an agent acts. In Kantian ethics, one tests whether a maxim can be universalised without contradiction.
准则 – 行为者行动所依据的主观原则。在康德伦理学中,需检验准则能否无矛盾地普遍化。
Good Will (Kant) – The only thing good without qualification; it shines like a jewel, deriving value from its volition, not from its outcomes.
善良意志(康德) – 唯一无条件善的东西,其价值如同宝石,由意愿本身而非结果赋予。
Eudaimonia – Aristotle’s concept of human flourishing or living well, achieved through a life of rational activity in accordance with virtue.
幸福(eudaimonia) – 亚里士多德的人类兴盛或活得好,通过合乎德性的理性活动实现。
Doctrine of the Mean – Virtues lie at an intermediate point between excess and deficiency relative to us. Courage is the mean between rashness and cowardice.
中庸之道 – 德性是相对于我们而言的过度与不及之间的中点。勇敢是鲁莽与怯懦的中庸。
Cognitivism vs Non-Cognitivism – Cognitivism holds that moral statements express beliefs and can be true or false (e.g. naturalism, intuitionism); non-cognitivism holds they express emotions, prescriptions or attitudes (e.g. emotivism, prescriptivism) and are not truth-apt.
认知主义与非认知主义 – 认知主义认为道德陈述表达信念且具有真值(如自然主义、直觉主义);非认知主义认为道德陈述表达情感、规定或态度(如情绪主义、规定主义),无真值可言。
Is-Ought Gap (Hume’s Law) – You cannot logically derive an evaluative ‘ought’ statement from purely descriptive ‘is’ premises. Moral conclusions need a normative premise.
实然-应然鸿沟(休谟法则) – 不能从纯描述性的“实然”前提逻辑地推导出评价性的“应然”结论,道德推理必须包含规范性前提。
4. Metaphysics of God: Core Terms | 上帝形而上学核心术语
Ontological Argument – A deductive, a priori argument for God’s existence that moves from the concept of God to his necessary existence. Anselm’s version: God is ‘that than which nothing greater can be conceived’; existing in reality is greater than existing only in the understanding.
本体论论证 – 一种演绎的、先验的上帝存在证明,从上帝的概念推导出其必然存在。安瑟伦版本:上帝是“无法设想比之更伟大者”;存在于现实中比仅存在于理智中更伟大。
Gaunilo’s Island – The objection that Anselm’s reasoning could prove the existence of a perfect island. Anselm responds that the argument works only for the greatest conceivable being, not for contingent items.
高尼罗的岛屿 – 一种批评,认为安瑟伦的推理同样能证明“完美岛屿”的存在。安瑟伦回应:该论证仅适用于“无法设想比之更伟大者”,不适用于偶性事物。
Kant’s Objection: Existence is not a Predicate – Kant argues that ‘existence’ does not add to the concept of a thing; 100 real thalers contain no more conceptual content than 100 possible thalers.
康德反驳:存在不是谓词 – 康德指出,“存在”并不给事物的概念增添任何内容;100 个真实的塔勒与 100 个可能的塔勒在概念内容上并无差别。
Cosmological Argument – An a posteriori argument that moves from the existence of the cosmos to a first cause or necessary being. Aquinas’ First Way argues from motion to an Unmoved Mover.
宇宙论论证 – 一种后验论证,从宇宙的存在追溯至第一因或必然存在者。阿奎那的第一路从运动推导出不动的推动者。
Fallacy of Composition – The mistake of assuming that what is true of the parts must be true of the whole. Russell and others charge that the cosmological argument commits this fallacy when it treats the universe as requiring a cause just because its parts do.
合成谬误 – 错误地认为对部分为真的属性对整体亦为真。罗素等人指责宇宙论论证犯了此谬误:不能因为各个部分有原因就推断宇宙全体需要原因。
Design Argument (Teleological) – The argument that the order and complexity of the natural world point to an intelligent designer. Paley’s watchmaker analogy: if you find a watch, you infer a watchmaker.
设计论论证(目的论) – 从自然世界的秩序与复杂性推出智慧设计
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