List of Terms

Mathematics – structural reasoning coming from before experience

Philosophy – conceptual reasoning coming from before experience

Metaphysics – a claim about the fundamental nature of reality that transcends the physical.

Transcendent – something that transcends rationality.

Transcendental – something that remains within the bounds of rationality

Empirical – something pertaining to the senses or scientific experiment

Physical – pertaining to natural law or the empirical

Idealism- Synonymous with immaterialism. belief that all is mind or that the world is contained within the mind, or that matter does not exist.

Subjective idealism- belief that the world is contained within the individuals mind. Found in the modern Western tradition and components in Buddhism and Hinduism.

Types of God

Objective idealism – belief that the world is contained within some Gods mind and in which there is an immanent component. Found in the Western tradition, Islam, and Hinduism.

Pantheism – a purely immanent God.

Theism – belief in a transcendent God that interferes with the world from time to time. Found in Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.

Deism – belief in a purely rational God that does not interfere with the world.

Types of metaphysics

Esotericism – the root word of esotericism means hidden and only accessible to a small group of people. I take it to mean a metaphysical claim that transcends reason, perhaps having been handed down from an ancient prehistory. The big three are magic, astrology, and alchemy.

Mysticism- A metaphysical claim that usually is reduced to state of mind such as a feeling of merging with god. Can also depict a line of reasoning that transcends rationality. Can be used synonymously with esotericism.

Religion – A system of critical mysticism that is organized, in which there is a transcendent component and a critical or philosophical component.

Occultism – A metaphysical claim that lays over and on top of a physical claim. For example, in the 1800s magnetism and gravity were considered occult. Can also mean the new type of esotericism that emerged in the late 1800s in which less of an emphasis is placed on tradition.

Paranormal – includes phenomenon such as the psychic, ghosts, and telepathy. A mix of the esoteric and the occult.

Supernatural – a first order interaction between the physical and the metaphysical. There have been few cases throughout history other than superpowers, and examples from the Christian and Buddhist tradition.