Generally speaking, the contradiction that manifests itself between two equally valid principles or between two (obviously) correct conclusions based on these principles.
Semiology Glossary
Antipsychologism
The view that psychological or spiritual processes cannot explain the sign process. Proponents of this doctrine argue that signs cannot be explained by their relationship to reason, namely, reason accepted as an internal or private sphere; reason could be explained...
Anti-realism
The complete denial of realism; even more radical, a denial of the problem (a series of problems) that raises the question of whether or not our signs can or do not accurately describe or represent reality.
Aperçu
A French word meaning flash, insight, schematization, and annotation. Sometimes this word is used to denote the sketching or general representation of an argument or narrative.
Aphasia
Lack or lack of ability to understand words, often as a result of brain damage. Roman Jakobson and other linguists have studied aphasia in the hope that such a study could shed light on our speech abilities as well as the nature of language.
Apodictic
Something that has the character of truth by necessity or as a result of absolute certainty. Much of Western philosophy includes the requirement of apodictic security, but since the second half of the nineteenth century, this requirement has been called into question....
Aporia
A Greek word, meaning helplessness or difficulty in coping with something or finding something. In philosophy, this term is often used to denote a conceptually or theoretically hopeless situation in which one is placed in the pursuit of certain beliefs or convictions....
A posteriori
Knowledge, separated from experience and respectful of it. A priori means knowledge that is preliminary and not based on experience. These two terms are commonly used in epistemological discussions.
A priori
That which is preliminary and not resting on experience. It is in opposition to A posteriori, which is knowledge based on experience. The question of whether there are innate ideas, such as we were born with, and which were not separated in the process of...
A priori method
Pre-experience method. To learn more about the term A priori method, please visit Method of Agreeableness to reason. Related: A priori A posteriori
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Adequacy
Three realities or degrees of the theory, moving respectively from one minimum requirement for reporting (observing) adequacy to the ultimate goal of explanatory adequacy through the mediation of descriptive adequacy. This three-threshold difference can best be...
Adequatio
Latin word meaning equivalence, equality, or conformity. Unification is a process in which one thing is done to be the same as another. In medieval thought, the truth was defined in terms of adequatio. According to Thomas Aquinas, truth is adequatio rei et...
Ad Hoc
A Latin term meaning "for this", used as a definition to describe something (such as a committee or hypothesis), specifically intended to solve a particular problem, result, or desire. If an administrator at a university organizes a committee tasked with approving...
Ad Hominem
A Latin expression commonly used as an abbreviation of argumentum ad hominem. One of the meanings is an argument that applies specifically to a person (for example, "If you maintain or assume this, you cannot consistently defend another position"), by which a person...
Adjuvant
A French term, that means helper. The term was used by A.J. Greimas to denote something that originally had an actant role attributed but was later classified as an auxilliant of the same significance.
Free Course in Semiology
A completely and truly free course on Semiology (Semiotics). Learn about the meaning of signs, how and why did the field emerged. What is the relationship between the street signs and the signs that we use every day - words.
