Latin Glossary of Philosophical Terminology

  • A contrariis – To the contrary (Philosophical term used in logic)
    A pari – For the same (Philosophical term – Argument based on the similarity and equality of the facts)
    A posse ad esse – From possibility to reality (Philosophical term )
    A posteriori – After the fact (Legal term – actions after the fact – also philosophical term: from what is before – Inductive reasoning)
    A priori – Before the fact (Legal term – Actions before the fact – First speech – Philosophical term: from what is before – Deductive reasoning)
    Ab absurdo – From the absurd (Philosophical term – used in logic to argue that the oposing position is absurd)
    Ab esse ad posse valet consequentia – As a consequence of the reality, it is a possibility (Philosophical term – Since it is real, it is possible)
    Ad verecundiam – To the venerability (Philosophical term used in logic to describe a Argumentum ad hominem fallacy, where an argument is accepted due to the respect (venerability) of the person asserting it, instead of the facts – Also known as argument to respect or argument to prestige)
    Aegroto, dum anima est, spes est – For the sick, while there is life, there is hope (Philosophical Term – Cicero Ad Atticum IX, 11)
    Alios ego vidi ventos; alias prospexi animo procellas – I’ve seen other winds; and have faced other storms (Philosophical Term – Cicero Familiares, 12, 25, 5, 12)
    Aliquid quo nihil maius cognitari posit – Somthing which nothing greater can be conceived (Philosophical term – Saint Anselm’s argument of the existance of God)
    Animula vagula blandula Hospes comesque corporis, Quae nunc abibis in loca Pallidula, rigida, nudula, Nec, ut soles, dabis iocos – Little soul, soft, wandering guest and friend of the body, you’ll go now pale, hard, bare spots and you will not play, as you usually did (Philosophical Term – these words were spoken by the emperor Hadrian Augustus, expresses the dualism body and soul, at the approach of death, longing for love games)
    Argumentum a pari – Argument by similarity (Philosophical term used in logic – Argument from similar propositions)
    Argumentum ad baculum – Argument by the cane (Legal and Philosophical term – Argument by force or threat)
    Argumentum ad consequentiam – Argument to the consequences (Legal and Philosophical term)
    Argumentum ad cruneman – Argument to the purse (Legal and Philosophical term – A fallacy that says that something must be true, because the one who asserts it is rich – Compare with argumentum ad lazarum)
    Argumentum ad hominen – Argument against the man (Legal and Philosophical term – A fallacy that says that attacks the one who asserts it, instead of looking at the facts )
    Argumentum ad ignorantiam – Argument from ignorance (Philosophical term – Fallacy that indicates that something must be true, because there is no proof to the contrary. For example, that there are extraterrestrials, because there is no evidence that proves that they do not exist)
    Argumentum ad lazarum – Argument to poverty (Legal and Philosophical term – A fallacy that says that something must be true, because the one who makes it is poor – Compare with argumentum ad cruneman)
    Argumentum ad logicam – Argument to logic (Philosophical term)
    Argumentum ad novitatem – Argument to novelty (Philosophical term – Argument which holds that an idea is correct or better simply because it is more modern)
    Argumentum ad populum – Argument to the people (Diplomatic term – Also philosophical term that refers to the fallacy to base the decision based on popularity instead of the premises)
    Argumentum petitio Principii – Argument of asking for the beginning (Philosophical term – Fallacy in which one person uses the conclusion as one of the premises to prove his conclusion. It is also called “begging the question”, “circular argument” and “vicious circle”. In Plato’s Phaedo, Socrates incurs such fallacy trying to prove that the soul is immortal)
    Artes serviunt vitae, sapientia imperat – The arts provide a service to life, wisdom governs it (Philosophical Term – Seneca, Letters to Lucilius, 85, 32)
    Asumpsit tuas responsabilitates – Take charge (Philosophical Term – Assume your responsibilities)
    Aut tace aut loquere meliora silentio – Be quiet, or say something better than silence (Philosophical term)
    Aut viam inveniam aut faciam – I will find the way, or I will make one (Philosophical Term – This phrase was said by Anibal when his general told him it was impossible to cross the Alps)
    Beatus ille quem vivere in locus amoenus et carpe diem – Fortunate is the one who lives in a pleasant place and captures the day. (Philosophical term – A mix of several famous phrases to describe a simple way of live: to be happy, without seeking more wealth than those who are around you)
    Cognosco melior, facio taliter I know the best, I do the worst (Philosophical term – Similar to: Do as I say, not as I do)
    Condicio sine qua non – Condition without which it could not be (Legal and Philosophical term)
    Contra naturam – Against nature (Legal and philosophical term)
    Cuius vita despicitur, restat ut eius praedicatio contemnatur – The one whose life is despised, his words must be condemned (Philosophical term)
    Cuiusvis est errare; nullius nisi insipientes, in errore perseverare – To err is inherent in every man; but to persist in error takes a fool. (Philosophical term – Cicero)
    Cum cetera vitia senescant in homine, sola avaritia iuvenescit – When all vices aging a man, only greed rejuvenates him (Philosophical term )
    Cum hoc ergo propter hoc – With this, therefore because of this (Philosophical Term – A fallacy that confuses cause and effect)
    Cum virtutis potestas etiam in evacuandi se potestate permaneat – With the virtue of power, even when releasing power, the power remains. (Philosophical term – Hilarius – De Trinitate 1206)
    Cum vita brevis sit, nolite tempus perdere – Since life is short, do not waste time (Philosophical term)
    De indisolubilia non disputatur – We must not continue discussing what we can not resolve or agree (Philosophical term – It is used when certain debates become endless because the contestants start from different premises or incompatible values)
    De nihilo nihil fit – You cannot make anything out of nothing (Philosophical term)
    Deus dedit, Deus abstulit – God Giveth, God Taketh Away (Philosophical term)
    Deus est mortali mortalem iuvare – God is a mortal that helps another mortal (Philosophical term)
    Dimidium animae meae – Half of my soul (Philosophical term)
    Docta ignorantia – On learned ignorance (Philosophical term – Title of a book by Nicolaus Cusanus)
    Dubito ergo cogito, cogito ergo sum – I doubt, therefore I think, therefore I am (Rene Descartes – Philosophical term)
    Dum luceam, peream – I perish, but I look good (Philosophical term – serves as a norm for too many people in modern society)
    Eadem mutata resurgo – Eadem resurgo mutata – Although changed, I will resurge (Philosophical term – Epitaph of Jakob Bernoulli)
    Ecce garum est – Behold garum (Philosophical term -. Phrase coined by the poet Martial (VII, 94), referring to the foul breath that people who ate garum had. Garum was a fish sauce served at the tables of high society Imperial Rome. Made with remains of fish, it was salted and left to ferment in large vats exposed to sunlight. Just like some perfumes, it came to demand high prices, as much as 500 silver coins for one liter of this sauce)
    Eo ipso – By that fact itself (Philosophical term – By that fact alone)
    Ergo – Therefore (Philosophical term used in logic)
    Ergo conclusus contra manichaeus – And this ends the Manichaean! (Philosophical Term – Thomas Aquinas said this at a banquet hosted by St. Louis IX of France, after expressing a conclusive argument against Manichaeism, which then spread through Europe)
    Erudio Procul Imperium – I educate the empire from afar. (Philosophical term)
    Esse est percipi – To be is to be perceived (Philosophical term – Principle developed by the Irish philosopher George Berkeley (1685-1753)
    Ex nihilo nihil fit – Nothing comes from nothing (Philosophical term – Saint Thomas Aquinas)
    Ex pede Herculem – From Hercules’ feet (Philosophical term – very little data is needed to understand who is making a statement)
    Ex umbra in solem – From the shade into the sun (Philosophical term – To go from ignorance to knowledge – Motto of the University Santa Maria, Chile)
    Facilius est paupertatem laudare quam ferre – It is easier to praise poverty than to endure it (Philosophical term – Seneca)
    Facito aliquid operis, ut te semper diabolus inveniat occupatum – Always do something, so the devil will find you busy (Philosophical term – Similar to “Idle hands are the devils playground”)
    Fortis est non pertubaris in rebus asperis – The strong do not falter in adversity (Philosophical term – Cicero)
    Fronte capillata, post est occasio calva – Behind the front full of hair, the occasion is bald (Caton distichs 26, B, Phaedrus, Fables, 5, 8 – Philosophical term)
    Gigni de nihilo nihil, in nihilum nil posse reverti – Nothing is generated from nothing, nothing returns to nothing (Philosophical term – Persius Satires I, 111, 83)
    In esse – In being (Philosophical term – Saint Thomas Aquinas – In existence – Before we are born we are in In posse. After we are born, we are In esse)
    In posse – In potential (Philosophical term – Saint Thomas Aquinas – In possible existence before we are born – Before we are born we are in In posse. After we are born, we are In esse)
    In te ipso fons est laetitiae – In yourself is the source of joy (Philosophical term – is used to show that happiness is not something external but in the interior to each person)
    Ipsum esse subsistens – Subsistent Being itself (Saint Thomas Aquinas – Philosophical term – Essential definition of God given by the scholastics)
    Iustitiae debetur quod homo homini sit deus non lupus – Justice occurs because that man is a god to man and not a wolf (Philosophical term – Francis Bacon)
    Labor omnia improba vincit – Hard work conquers everything (Philosophical term – Virgil – Georgics)
    Latrant et scitis estatint praetesquitantes estis – They bark, so you know that you are in front of them (Philosophical term – A successful person does not look back, and only seeks his goal. However, enemies will follow him and say bad things, acting like barking dogs)
    Lenticulae similis est, agat aut desistat – It’s like lentils, take it or leave it (Philosophical Term)
    Maior sum quam qui mancipium sim corporis mei – I’m too big to be a slave of my body (Philosophical term put forward as the antithesis of the old Socratic thesis that said: The body is the prison of the soul.) )
    Malum sed mulliere, sed necessarium malum – Women are evil, a necessary evil (Philosophical Term)
    Memento vivere – Remember that you are alive (Philosophical term)
    Modus ponendo ponens / Modus ponens – Mode that affirms by affirming (Philosophical term – Way of logical deduction: the union of two premises such as “If it rains, we will go to the beach” and “It rains”. By combining these two by Modus Ponens, it can be concluded that: “We will go to the beach”)
    Modus ponendo tollens – Mode which affirms by denying (Philosophical term)
    Modus tollendo ponens – Mode which denies by affirming (Philosophical term)
    Modus tollendo tollens – Mode which denies by denying (Philosophical term)

 

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