Absolutism - in political philosophy, the view that absolute rule is the most desirable, or the least inadequate. Adscititious - not inherent or essential, derivative. A Posteriori - reasoning from particular facts to general principles or conclusions; inductive, empirical. [ Latin, "from the posterior".] A Priori - 1. reasoning from general propositions to particular conclusions; deductive. 2. an assertion made before examination or substantiation. [Latin, "from beforehand".] A priori knowledge exists independently of direct experience; e.g., one needn't draw a hundred parallel lines to know that they never intersect one another. Agathism - the doctrine that all things tend towards ultimate good, as distinguished from optimism, which holds that all things are now for the best. adj., agathistic. [From the Greek agathos, good.] Agnosticism - the belief that one cannot know whether God exists or does not exist. An agnostic may or may not believe in God, but in any case feels that there is insufficient proof to hold fast to either view. Cf. atheism. Animism - the belief that objects are inhabited by spirits, and that natural events or processes are caused by spirits. Anthropomorphism - the ascription of human characteristics or motives to inanimate objects, natural phenomena, or supernatural things. Many major religious systems - among them Judaism and Christianity - share anthropomorphic qualities. An example is the belief that human beings are "made in God's image," or that God is a personal deity sensitive and responsive to human need and pain, or more commonly, that God is an elderly man with a long gray beard sitting somewhere in the sky on his celestial throne. Anthropopathism - the attribution of human feelings and emotions to anything not human; e.g., inanimate objects and animals.
