The COHE glossary of humanist and related terms is offered as a public service to our site visitors. We hope that it will assist you with not only academic work, but also your pursuit of general knowledge about humanism, science, religion, psychology, ethics, politics, and more.

Because glossary terms are defined by the authors of COHE courses in our diverse Study Areas, some show multiple definitions depending on context within those modules. Note also the offering of synonyms (words with identical meanings) for some terms.

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abortion
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

The premature expulsion or removal of a foetus from the womb to prevent its development and survival.

academic freedom
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

An important yet subtle concept that defines the limits within which individual teachers have latitude to teach specific subject matter. Contrary to popular opinion, it does not entitle one to teach whatever one feels like, but rather to explore different ways of presenting a given subject matter.

act-utilitarianism
Ethics [ETH 100]

Ethical theory postulating that right actions are those that maximize happiness, everyone considered.

active euthanasia
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

The intentional and direct action to end the life of a suffering individual by such means as a lethal injection or a lethal overdose of drugs.

activism
Humanist Activism and Organization [HAO 100]

The theory, doctrine, or practice of assertive action as a means of opposing or supporting a particular viewpoint.

actual
Ethics [ETH 100]

Category of duties we should perform in a particular case after we take into account any conflicting prima facie duties; i.e., after we decide which prima facie duty is most important in the situation.

advocacy
Humanist Activism and Organization [HAO 100]

The act of pleading or arguing in favor of something, such as a cause, an ideal, or a policy.

affect
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The emotions, both pleasant and unpleasant, that are naturally and functionally related to cognition and behaviors and to antecedents and consequences. (Pronounced AF-fect)

agapism
Ethics [ETH 100]

A religious formulation of Ethics of Love theory of morality which extends the imperative to love not only to humans but to God.

agnostic
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

One who is uncertain about the existence of gods or deities.

agnostic
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

One who denies the possibility of knowledge of God or gods and who therefore refrains from believing in gods; one who is unsure whether God exists or not.

antecedents
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Stimulus events that precede a behavior, thought, or feeling and make it likely to occur.

anthropomorphism
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

The attributing of human characteristics to a divine being, an animal, or an object.

anti-elitism
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

The idea that intellectual activities are undemocratic. This is a populist political ideology, rooted in the American (but not European) concept of democracy.

anti-intellectualism
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

An all-encompassing term to indicate several attitudes that share a cultural criticism of intellectual activities.

anti-rationalism
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

A form of anti-intellectualism which holds that reason is cold and dull, and that skeptical inquiry threatens authority (usually, of the Church).

atheist
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

Without belief in a god; one who disbelieves or denies the existence of gods.

atheistic
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

Devoid of belief in deities.

Atomists
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

Followers of the school of thought in Classical Greece which argued that simple, minute, indivisible, and indestructible particles are the basic components of everything in the universe.

authoritarian
Humanist Activism and Organization [HAO 100]

A form of government in which individual liberty is subjugated to a central authority.

autonomous person
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

One who is in a position to make freely reflective and informed choices about life and is critically reflective about the outcomes of those choices.

autonomy
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

Self government; personal freedom.

BCE
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

Before Common Era, a nonreligious replacement for BC (before Christ).

behavior
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Any observable action of an organism, including actions that can be observed only by using sophisticated technology such as brain imaging techniques.

behavior modification synonym with BeMod
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Intentionally using the natural principles of learning to systematically influence someone's learning, usually by trying to increase desirable behaviors and decrease undesirable ones.

BeMod synonym with behavior modification
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Intentionally using the natural principles of learning to systematically influence someone's learning, usually by trying to increase desirable behaviors and decrease undesirable ones.

Bill of Rights
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, passed to reassure some supporters of the recently ratified Constitution that the federal government would not interfere with individual rights or the states' authority to regulate those rights.

biobehavioral information processing model
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

A psychological theoretical model that attributes all human thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to natural biological causes, and features a natural information processing model of human cognition (thoughts, ideas, memories, concepts, learning, etc.) in contrast with psychodynamic, behavioral, and other cognitive models of psychological theory.

Blaine Amendment
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

A measure unsuccessfully proposed by James G. Blaine in 1875 to amend the U.S. Constitution prohibiting any public funds from supporting religious establishments. The amendment was motivated by anti-Catholic sentiment.

campaign finance reform
Humanist Activism and Organization [HAO 100]

The effort, by law, to regulate the funding of political campaigns which have the purpose of electing a particular candidate or advancing the electoral prospects of a political party. Reform measures usually mean limiting the amount of money that can be donated, or requiring a candidate to disclose the amount of funds that others have contributed towards his or her campaign. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that it is unconstitutional to try to regulate the amount of personal funds a candidate uses towards his or her own candidacy.

Casey v. Planned Parenthood
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

(1992) A case that reaffirmed the basic holding of Roe v. Wade giving a woman a qualified right to choose an abortion, though at the same time narrowing that right by upholding regulations on abortion and jettisoning the “trimester” scheme.

cause and effect synonym with cause-and-effect
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The scientific means of answering all “why” questions about human thought, feelings, and behaviors by translating into testable hypotheses of scientific study to derive explanations and predictions which combine to yield understanding.

cause-and-effect synonym with cause and effect
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The scientific means of answering all “why” questions about human thought, feelings, and behaviors by translating into testable hypotheses of scientific study to derive explanations and predictions which combine to yield understanding.

CE
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

Common Era, a nonreligious replacement for AD (anno domini, or year of our Lord).

central nervous system synonym with CNS
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The brain and spinal cord.

ceremonial deism
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

Basically a vague affirmation of monotheism, stripped of all or nearly all its theological doctrine and often justified on the grounds that it solemnizes national occasions when secular mottos or slogans would not be adequate.

chaos theory
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

A mathematical theory explaining how apparently complex and unpredictable behavior can originate from relatively simple dynamics that can be described by a few short equations. It has applications especially in physics, but also in biology.

christian ethics
Ethics [ETH 100]

A type of Divine Command Theory of ethics in which the commandments are those of Christ's teachings, especially of the injunction to "love thy neighbor."

civil society
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

Relating to non-governmental and non-commercial activities and organizations, including social and political movements, charities, and other forms of voluntary social participation.

CNS synonym with central nervous system
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The brain and spinal cord.

cognition
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Any symbolic representation in the brain, such as a thought, memory, idea, intention, or sensory image.

cognitive restructuring
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

A dramatic change in perception or understanding, sometimes concerning the nature of the universe, life, or other fundamental questions.

comparative psychology
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Researching human psychological phenomena by studying non-human animals and then generalizing the results back to our own species.

Compelling Interest Test synonym with strict scrutiny test
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

Test used by the court when government laws or actions interfere with the fundamental liberties of individuals or groups, based on religious or other associations. Government must show the law is neeeded to protect a compelling interest (such as children's safety).

complexity
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

A measure of the amount of information necessary to describe a given system or phenomenon. Notice that long sequences of random numbers are highly complex, so that complexity per se is not sufficient to generate the patterns typical of biological structures.

complexity theory
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

A more general theory of complexity (compared to chaos), which studies the relationships between the number of parts making up a system (e.g., an airport, or a living organism) and the complexity of its behavior.

concurring
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

A type of opinion in a court case that agrees with the judgment of the Court but offers a different rationale for coming to that conclusion.

conditioning synonym with learning
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

A relatively permanent change in behavior (thinking/emotion) due to environmental experience; changing behavior because of its consequences; one of the three natural determinants which programs and reprograms the psychological repertoire.

consequences
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Stimulus events that folow a behavior, thought, or feeling and determine its future occurrence in similar situations

consequentialist synonym with teleological
Ethics [ETH 100]

Category of moral theories claiming that the rightness of an action depends on its consequences.

consilience
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

A term indicating the process by which different lines of evidence converge toward the same answer to a given question. It is the best assurance that a scientific hypothesis is, in fact, correct.

Contingency Argument
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

Philosophical idea that everything in existence depends on something else for its existence, but that nothing has a reason for its existence contained within it.

controlling
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

A type of ruling by a court that represents the opinion of a majority and controls the way that lower courts decide future cases.

corpus callosum
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

The connection between the left and right hemisphere of the brains in a normal human being.

cosmological
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

Name used to describe the argument for God's existence which posits that there must have been a First Cause of all things.

cosmology
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

The study of the physical universe as a totality, including its origins and nature.

creationism
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

A set of beliefs that the universe and everything in it was especially created from nothing by a supernatural being (there are many versions of creationism, depending on the religious beliefs of their proponents).

creationism
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

Religious belief claiming factual correctness of the Genesis account of Earth's creation by God in six days, and denying the slow evolution of species from one form to another.

creationism
Humanist Activism and Organization [HAO 100]

The belief in the literal truth of the biblical account of the origins of the universe, life, and mankind.

critical thinking
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

An often abused term that in education theory refers to a loosely defined set of skills that teachers should encourage in their students. They include the ability to rationally examine arguments and evidence and to reach conclusions based on them.

cultural relativism
Ethics [ETH 100]

Ethical theory postulating that an action is right if society or culture approves of it.

day-age theory
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

An interpretation of the Bible according to which each "day" referred to in the traditional six-day account of creation is comparable to a geological age, so it literally took tens of millions of years to create stars, planets, and life on Earth -- in convenient agreement with the evidence from astronomy and geology.

DCT
Ethics [ETH 100]

Divine Command Theory of morality -- ethical theory postulating that an action is right if God commands or wills it.

de minimis
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

Describes a situation in which the court regards the infringement on a right to be so minimal that a legal remedy is not needed to prohibit or remedy the infraction.

deconstructionism synonym with post-modernism
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

The idea that all knowledge is relative, that different cultural traditions are equivalent, and that, therefore, science should not enjoy any privileged status as a particularly effective method of inquiry.

deductive
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

Referring to the method of reasoning in which one starts out with premises that are known or assumed to be true, and logically derives some consequences from such premises. This is the method proposed by Aristotle with his famous syllogisms (e.g., All men are mortal {first premise}; Socrates is a man {second premise}; therefore Socrates is mortal {conclusion}). Notice that, contrary to popular belief, the type of reasoning used by the fictional character of Sherlock Holmes was not deduction, but a form of induction known as "induction to the best inference."

deism
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

The belief that God does exist, but he only created the universe and has not intervened in its affairs ever since.

Deism
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

A belief, common among Enlightenment thinkers, which accepts the idea of a god as creator of the universe but rejects the concept of a personal god who intervenes in the affairs of humans.

deist
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

Somebody who believes that God created the universe and its laws but then refrained from any further direct intervention in his creation.

deontological synonym with formalist
Ethics [ETH 100]

Category of moral theories claiming that the rightness of an action depends on the form of the action.

deprivation
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Not enough stimulus.

direct lobbying
Humanist Activism and Organization [HAO 100]

A systematic effort to meet face-to-face with elected officials in an effort to influence their vote on some piece of legislation, or otherwise communicate directly with such persons or their staff by telephone, mail, and e-mail.

discriminative stimulus
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

An antecedent that reliably predicts what reinforcement or nonreinforcement will follow a particular behavior.

dissent
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

The opinion of the minority judges in a court case. While such opinions obviously are not controlling, their reasoning is often used as a "beachhead" in later cases when the Court decides to reverse a previous court decision.

divine command theory
Ethics [ETH 100]

Ethical theory postulating that an action is right if God has commanded it.

divinity
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

That which is posited to make sense of the things in life that the human cannot.

DNA
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

Abbreviation for Deoxy-ribo-Nucleic-Acid, the chemical compound that carries most of the genetic information in the living world. A similar molecule also used by living organisms is RNA, Ribo-Nucleic-Acid (DNA is just like RNA, but it lacks an oxygen group).

dualism
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

The concept of human life as separated into distinct entities of body and soul or mind and body.

dualism
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The idea that reality is divided into two categories: that which is natural and material, and that which is supernatural and mystical.

Due Process Clause
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

The 14th Amendment clause declaring that no state "shall deny any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law." There is also a 5th Amendment clause of due process which applies only to the federal government.

ECs synonym with empirical constructs
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Hypothetical constructs that are predicted to have real, tangible, observable, measurable, testable existence, once sufficient scientific research has been done; natural causal agents.

elaborative rehearsal
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The memory process of associating a new image with already learned information in order to produce an easily stored, easily retrieved memory image.

electrical stimulation of the brain synonym with ESB
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Method of artificially stimulating sensory transmission fibers or sensory reception neurons with tiny electrical charges to produce a sensory experience.

ELT
Ethics [ETH 100]

Ethics of Love Theory -- Moral theory postulating that right actions are those based on love for others.

emergent properties
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

The characteristic of certain relatively simple systems (e.g., convection cells in the atmosphere) to generate complex patterns of behavior. It is the subject of study of both chaos and complexity theories.

emotivism
Ethics [ETH 100]

The view that moral judgments are expressions of emotion rather than statements of facts.

empirical
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

That which is observable by experiment, not accepted as simply a theory.

empirical
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

Verifiable by means of observation or experiment.

empirical constructs synonym with ECs
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Hypothetical constructs that are predicted to have real, tangible, observable, measurable, testable existence, once sufficient scientific research has been done; natural causal agents.

energy transduction
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The translation of stimulus energy into neural impulse energy.

engram
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

One of the trillions of memory images in the human brain.

engrams
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Memory images in the human brain, which number in the trillions.

Enlightenment
Humanist Activism and Organization [HAO 100]

European intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries in which reason, rather than superstition and religion, were the basis for man’s understanding of the world.

Enlightenment
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

Also known as “the Age of Reason” — the period in Western history from the mid-17th century through to the late 18th century, which was marked by the rise of science and the application of reason, instead of religion or superstition, to all areas of human inquiry and society.

Epicureanism
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

A humanist school of thought founded by Epicurus (ca. 341 – 271 BCE) which emphasized pleasure, moderation, and intellectual achievement and grew to be widespread in the ancient Greek and Roman world.

epistemology
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

The branch of philosophy that studies the nature of knowledge.

Equal Protection Clause
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

A 14th Amendment provision requiring that government not discriminate against persons because of their affiliation with some group.

ESB synonym with electrical stimulation of the brain
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Method of artificially stimulating sensory transmission fibers or sensory reception neurons with tiny electrical charges to produce a sensory experience.

Establishment Clause
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

Clause in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that forbids government favoritism towards any religious group, at the very least, and government promotion of religion more generally.

ethical egoism
Ethics [ETH 100]

Ethical theory postulating that an action is right if it benefits one's own self.

ethical legalism
Ethics [ETH 100]

The notion that morality is based on adherence to a set of laws or rules.

ethics
Ethics [ETH 100]

Moral philosophy -- the study of how we should live our lives.

ethics
Humanist Activism and Organization [HAO 100]

Moral philosophy – the study of how we should lead our lives.

ethics
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

Principles of moral conduct; the study of how we should live our lives.

Ethics of Love
Ethics [ETH 100]

Moral theory postulating that right actions are those based on love for others.

eugenics
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

A political and ideological movement, which had its heyday before World War II, aiming at the genetic improvement of the human race.

euthanasia
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

The act of ending a life of one who has no hope of recovery from a terminal and extremely painful illness.

evangelical
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

A type of Christian religious fundamentalism that emphasizes witnessing one's faith to other people.

evolution
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

Technically, the natural process by which life changes and diversifies. The hallmark of an evolutionary process is that it causes changes in the frequencies of the genes in a population of living organisms.

existential
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

Philosophical issues dealing with the nature and meaning of human existence.

extinction
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Reducing an undesirable behavior by having absolutely no consequence, positive or negative, associated the behavior.

fact
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

In science, an observation, or the result of an experimental manipulation.

fideism
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

The idea that God can only be known through faith, and not through rational inquiry.

formalist synonym with deontological
Ethics [ETH 100]

Category of moral theories claiming that the rightness of an action depends on the form of the action.

Free Exercise Clause
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

Clause in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that protects individuals from government persecution based on hostility to their religious beliefs, including the right not to believe.

free speech
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

A basic right guaranteed by the U.S. and other democratic constitutions. While strictly speaking it refers to one's ability to articulate one's own opinions in speech or writing, it is often extrapolated -- especially in the U.S. -- to include other forms of influencing people's opinions (e.g., the ability to contribute money to political campaigns or to advertise certain products).

freethinker
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

Someone who rejects authority and dogma, especially in religion.

freethought
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

The rejection of authority and dogma, especially in religion.

gap theory
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

A conception of the geological record and the Bible according to which there is a large temporal gap between the first and second chapters of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible, suggesting the existence of a pre-Adamic Earth that was destroyed and replaced by a second creation, when God started over and (re?)made Adam and Eve.

genes
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Inherited DNA and RNA codes that pre-program psychological instincts and potential capabilities and can predispose us to develop particular ways of thinking, feeling, and/or behaving/acting; one of three natural determinants.

genetic pre-programming
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Our genes' abilities to give us our general capacities to think, feel, and act.

geocentrism
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

The idea that the Earth is at the center of the universe, believed by most (though not all) ancient thinkers until Copernicus and Galilei provided decisive arguments and empirical evidence against it during the 16th and 17th centuries.

gerrymandering
Humanist Activism and Organization [HAO 100]

An attempt to draw the district of an elected representative in such a manner as to provide the most favorable constituency to aid in that person’s re-election. The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed some variation in shape for legislative districts, but has also struck down those it regards as too irregular in shape.

God of the gaps
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

The expression used to describe the process of assigning to God all mysteries that remains unsolved by rational inquiry. As human knowledge progresses and natural explanations are possible for aspects of existence that were once inexplicable and supernaturally explained, so the role of God diminishes or changes radically.

Golden Rule
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

The ethical principle that one should behave toward others as one would have others behave toward oneself.

grassroots lobbying
Humanist Activism and Organization [HAO 100]

When an organization encourages citizens to contact their elected representatives to support or oppose a piece of legislation, instead of directly communicating as an organization with the elected official.

hard determinism
Ethics [ETH 100]

The view that people have no free will -- that every action performed is the result of causes over which one has no control.

humanistic moral theories
Ethics [ETH 100]

Secular moral theories which also emphasize a respect or concern for the welfare and the rights of human individuals.

Hume's dictum
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

The idea that highly unusual hypotheses should be backed up by a large amount of evidence. Carl Sagan summarized it as, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."

hypothesis
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

A human mental construct that is used to provide a reasonable, preliminary, causal explanation of a set of facts.

hypothetical constructs
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Agents or factors that are guessed to cause one or more aspects of human cognition (thinking), affect (feelings/emotion), or behavior.

ID synonym with intelligent design
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

A variant of creationism based on the idea that the existence of a supernatural deity is betrayed by the complexity (design-like) of the universe.

incorporation
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

The Supreme Court doctrine which extended most, but not all, of the provisions of the Bill of Rights as restrictions against the states, where previously they had applied only to the federal government.

incremental complexity
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

The idea (as opposed to irreducible complexity) that biological structures are indeed complex, but that this complexity is built gradually by natural selection in a fashion similar to a ratchet: even though there is no plan, more complex structures evolve from simpler ones by accumulation of intermediate steps that are either advantageous or neutral to the organism's survival.

independent state constitutionalism
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

The doctrine that allows states to expand upon the rights found in the federal Bill of Rights, or create new rights.

indirect euthanasia
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

The act of hastening death as a side-effect of medical treatment.

inductive
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

Referring to the method of reasoning in which one starts with a series of observations and generalizes them to make predictions about as yet unobserved cases. Although induction is the basis of all science, it can yield mistaken conclusions: one could be too hasty in generalizing from an apparent pattern and make unfounded predictions. This is a fundamental reason why scientific conclusions are always tentative.

information processing synonym with IP
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The way humans take in, interpret, understand, think about, and make and implement decisions about stimuli from our environments.

inhibition
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Reducing an undesirable behavior by presenting a nonreinforcing consequence (such as time out or response cost) to the subject.

Inquisition
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

A Roman Catholic tribunal for the suppression of heresy. Operating from the Middle Ages through to the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Inquisition became notorious for its use of torture.

instincts
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Inherited, specific thoughts, feelings, and behaviors which occur automatically in response to particular internal or external stimuli.

intelligent design synonym with ID
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

A variant of creationism based on the idea that the existence of a supernatural deity is betrayed by the complexity (design-like) of the universe.

Intelligent Design
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

A pseudo-scientific belief system holding that life is too complex to have evolved and therefore must have had a Creator. ID was adopted when less sophisticated attempts (such as creationism) to combat the dominance of evolution in the science classroom proved inadequate.

Intelligent Design
Humanist Activism and Organization [HAO 100]

The principle that certain ordered states in nature imply the existence of an independent designer; i.e., a supernatural being that establishes and controls 'natural law.'

IP synonym with information processing
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The way humans take in, interpret, understand, think about, and make and implement decisions about stimuli from our environments.

irreducible complexity
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

A term proposed by ID supporter Michael Behe to indicate the possibility that some biological structure could not have evolved because none of the intermediate steps would have been functional. Since only the full structure would work, it must have been designed by an intelligent agent. Biologists claim that no examples of irreducible complexity in the natural world have actually been found.

karma
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

The eastern religious "law" of action and reaction, cause and effect, by which an individual's actions combine to produce related results for that individual in the present and future lives.

law
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

A general statement reflecting the expectation that certain patterns of events will always occur if and whenever certain conditions are met.

Law of Parsimony synonym with Occam's Razor
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

When two or more explanations (theories) account equally well for the same results, the simpler one (the one requiring the fewest causal agents) is best.

learning synonym with conditioning
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

A relatively permanent change in behavior (thinking/emotion) due to environmental experience; changing behavior because of its consequences; one of the three natural determinants which programs and reprograms the psychological repertoire.

Lemon Test
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

A judicial doctrine for assessing whether a law complies with the Establishment Clause, based on three “prongs:” (1) A secular legislative purpose; (2) Primary effect that neither advances nor inhibits religion; (3) No excessive government entanglement with religion.

libertarianism
Ethics [ETH 100]

The view that we are free to cause our own actions (i.e., although everything including human inclination has a cause, some of those causes are agents [selves, persons]).

life
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

A very difficult concept to define. One way to think of it is a property of matter characterized by the processes of metabolism (transformation of raw material into energy used for growth) and reproduction.

life-stance
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

The particular interpretation placed on life by an individual or a number of like-minded individuals, and the living of life accordingly.

lifestance
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

A framework of ideas that helps us understand the world and find meaning and value in life.

literalism
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

The idea that the Bible can be read literally, as is. Interestingly, supporters of this position often describe it as a literal "interpretation" of the Scripture, perhaps without realizing that an interpretation cannot be literal.

logical fallacy
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

an error in logical thinking as defined by the study of logic or philosophical practice. It consists in drawing a conclusion from certain premises in a way that is unwarranted by the laws of logic.

logical positivism
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

A philosophical school arguing that the only statements that are meaningful are those that can be validated, either mathematically or empirically.

long term memory synonym with LTM
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The third component of human memory that permanently stores a memory in unchanged form and efficiently retrieves that memory when needed.

LTM synonym with long term memory
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The third component of human memory that permanently stores a memory in unchanged form and efficiently retrieves that memory when needed.

macroevolution
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

The scientific doctrine stating that organisms have radically changed form over time, resulting in new species. Most creationists oppose macroevolution, but accept microevolution (such as the development of different breeds of dog) because such variation does not result in new species or “kinds”.

maintenance rehearsal
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The memory process of restimulating ourselves with a stimulus material over and over again to produce a singular, impoverished long term memory image which is fairly easy to store.

manifesto
Humanist Activism and Organization [HAO 100]

A public declaration of principles, policies, and intentions.

materialism
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

In philosophy, the theory that physical matter is the only reality and that everything can be explained in terms of physical phenomena.

meiosis
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

The fundamental mechanism of cell division and reduction in the number of chromosomes that makes it possible for species to reproduce sexually.

memory
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The brain's storehouse for previous learning experiences.

memory hook
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

An external stimulus cue or internal idea that produces other memory associations (i.e., retrieves other memory engrams).

metacognition
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The uniquely human activity of using our brains to study how our brains work and improve their functioning.

metaethics
Ethics [ETH 100]

Branch of ethics that probes fundamental questions about the meaning of concepts like right, wrong, good, and bad.

metaphysical
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

That which is beyond the physical and empirical.

metaphysics
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

The branch of philosophy that is concerned with what is beyond physics -- and therefore beyond any empirical evidence.

methodology
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

A system of procedures and rules used in an area of study; the branch of philosophy dealing with the principles and procedures of inquiry.

mnemonics
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Memory aids.

monism
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

The concept of human life as an integrated whole, without division into body and soul.

monism
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The idea that everything in the universe is part of the natural realm and therefore subject to natural laws; i.e., that there is no supernatural realm.

moral relativism
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

The idea or fear that one set of morals is no better than another.

Murphy's Law of Neuropsychology
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

For every function, there can be an equal and opposite dysfunction, ranging from 0% to 99.999%.

natural determinants
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The genes, learning, and trauma; three components of the natural universe postulated to cause all psychological phenomena.

natural selection
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

Biological term referring to constant adaptation through the process of evolution.

naturalism
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

1. In philosophy and metaphysics, the system of thought holding that nature is the only reality and that all phenomena can be explained in terms of natural causes and laws. 2. In ethics, the category of moral theories which assert that morality can be derived from, or defined in terms of, natural or empirical phenomena.

naturalistic
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

Devoid of belief in anything supernatural.

naturalistic
Ethics [ETH 100]

Category of moral theories asserting that morality can be derived from, or defined in terms of, natural or empirical phenomena.

NECs synonym with non-empirical constructs
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Hypothetical constructs or hypothesized causal agents that have no real, tangible, observable, measurable, testable existence or identity.

neural circuit
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

A group of two or three to tens of thousands of neurons acting together to produce some psychological phenomenon.

neural circuits
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Genetically pre-programmed groups of neurons fired by transmission neurons when memory information enters the brain.

neural network
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

In human memory processing, a complex of associated groups of circuits organized and linked by common meanings.

neuron
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Nerve cell.

No Religious Test Ban Clause
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

The third religious clause, found in the main text of the Constitution rather than in the Bill of Rights. It states that “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the authority of the United States.”

non-discriminative stimuli
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Antecedents that fail to predict what behaviors will be reinforced or nonreinforced.

non-empirical constructs synonym with NECs
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Hypothetical constructs or hypothesized causal agents that have no real, tangible, observable, measurable, testable existence or identity.

non-voluntary euthanasia
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

The act of ending the life of an individual who has not expressed any wish to die, perhaps because he or she is not physically or mentally capable of doing so.

nonnaturalistic
Ethics [ETH 100]

Category of moral theories rejecting the idea that morality can be reduced to empirical terms.

nonreligious moral theories
Ethics [ETH 100]

Category of moral theories which omit all references to theistic or supernatural states of affairs.

nontheists
Ethics [ETH 100]

People lacking belief in God.

normative ethics
Ethics [ETH 100]

Branch of ethics that focuses on theories about how we should act and what things are right, wrong, good, and bad.

occam's razor
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

Expression referring to the principle articulated by fourteenth-century English philosopher William Occam, who said that when given a choice of explanations, the one containing the fewest possible assertions is the best.

Occam's razor
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

A philosophical principle according to which one should not make more assumptions than are necessary to explain the facts at hand.

Occam's Razor synonym with Law of Parsimony
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

When two or more explanations (theories) account equally well for the same results, the simpler one (the one requiring the fewest causal agents) is best.

OEC synonym with old-Earth creationism
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

The biblically-based belief that our planet is millions of years old, in agreement with modern estimates from geology.

old-Earth creationism synonym with OEC
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

The biblically-based belief that our planet is millions of years old, in agreement with modern estimates from geology.

ontological
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

Name used to describe the argument for God's existence which posits that there must be some kind of being that is greater than anything we can imagine, and that this being is God.

open society
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

A society that accommodates a diversity of opinions, values, and life-stances and encourages debate and compromises among competing interests and ideals.

outreach
Humanist Activism and Organization [HAO 100]

A systematic attempt to interact with or educate those beyond the bounds of a particular community.

PaB Theorem
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The Psychology-as-Biology Theorem, which essentially characterizes psychology as the scientific study of brain biochemistry.

panentheism
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

The belief that the divine is in all things and all things are in the divine, but the divine is greater than all things.

passive euthanasia
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

The withholding of treatment so that a patient is allowed to die naturally.

perception synonym with sensation
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The result of sensory reception area neurons firing circuits of neurons in sensory association areas and memory circuits so that they become biochemically associated with a sensory code, providing an image or sensory experience in the brain.

pervasively sectarian
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

Describes an institution that strongly articulates its religious message as part of its mission. While such an institution may be given tax-exempt status from the government, the government is not permitted to fund its programs because that would amount to endorsing the religious message of the institution.

philosophes
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

The leading philosophical, political, and social writers of the 18th-century French Enlightenment.

post-modernism synonym with deconstructionism
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

The idea that all knowledge is relative, that different cultural traditions are equivalent, and that, therefore, science should not enjoy any privileged status as a particularly effective method of inquiry.

predispositions
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Capacities for developing particular types of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, but which require specific environmental conditions called triggers to actually manifest themselves.

prima facie
Ethics [ETH 100]

Category of duties we are obligated to perform in every situation unless there are special circumstances that provide an exception to the rule.

programming
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The acquisition of any and all thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

proportional representation
Humanist Activism and Organization [HAO 100]

A system of election that provides for representation in a legislative body based on the percentage of votes a party receives in an election; the opposite of a winner-take-all system based on a single person winning each separate district (a form of representation that usually favors a two party system and shuts out third or minor parties from being represented at all).

psychiatry
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The medical science specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of human psychopathology (abnormal psychology).

psychological repertoire synonym with repertoire
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Our term for the unique totality of one’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, replacing the term "personality."

psychology
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The science of human cognition (thoughts, ideas, memory), affect (emotions, feelings), and behavior (actions).

punctuated equilibria
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

A paleontological theory proposed by Stephen Gould and Niels Eldredge in 1972, according to which evolution on a geological scale is characterized by "sudden" (i.e., of a duration of tens to hundreds thousand years) bursts of diversification of living organisms (punctuation events), separated by long periods of stasis during which little happens.

punishment
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

An unpleasant or aversive stimulus presented to a subject as a consequence of behavior done in response to some antecedent.

recall
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

In human memory, simple one-to-one correspondence.

recognition
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

In human memory, the ability to tell something familiar from something novel.

redintegration
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The most complex form of human memory, involving several different senses and heavily laden with emotion.

reincarnation
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

The belief that a deceased individual will return to life on earth as a new person or an animal.

relearning
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The least qualitative degree of human memory, so impoverished in content that it cannot be used consciously and must be demonstrated under lab conditions.

religion
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

Belief in supernatural ideas and phenomena that lie outside the human realm, such as god, afterlife, reincarnation, heaven, hell, and miracles, and any combination of such supernatural aspects that combine to inform a particular religion or religious sect.

Religious Freedom Restoration Act
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

Act passed by Congress in 1994 (and then declared unconstitutional in 1997) to broaden religious freedom by restoring the Sherbert Doctrine, requiring that an exemption be granted whenever government inadvertently burdened religious conduct, except in the case of a compelling government justification.

religious moral theories
Ethics [ETH 100]

Category of moral theories which depend substantially on ideas about theistic or supernatural states of affairs.

religiously affiliated
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

Describes an institution that is able to separate its religious message from its secular mission. The Court has held that the Establishment Clause does not forbid government from supporting such institutions.

Renaissance
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

The period in European history, beginning in the fourteenth century and continuing through to the early seventeenth century, which was marked by a rebirth of learning.

repertoire synonym with psychological repertoire
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Our term for the unique totality of one’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, replacing the term "personality."

response cost
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Form of inhibition which decreases an undesirable behavior by removing a positive consequence (from the subject as a result of the behavior; a fine or penalty.

restriction enzymes
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

Biological molecules often used in biotechnology to cut pieces of DNA. While they are very useful to molecular biologists, their natural function in bacteria is to protect the cell from viral attacks: these enzymes recognize the viral DNA or RNA as foreign and cut it to pieces, thereby destroying the virus. The bacterium's own DNA is spared, a cunning example of natural selection.

revelation
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

Messages believed to come directly from God; the act of direct communication between God and humans.

Roe v. Wade
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

(1973) A landmark Supreme Court case ruling that a woman had a qualified right to an abortion based on a pregnancy trimester system.

rule-utilitarianism
Ethics [ETH 100]

Ethical theory postulating that right actions are those that accord with an exceptionless rule that -- if consistently followed -- would result in the greatest happiness, everyone considered.

S-R Psychology synonym with Stimulus-Response Psychology
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The branch of psychological theorists who scientifically studied everything that went into the brain (stimuli) and everything that came out of the brain (responses) to learn what went on in between.

scientific method
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The best (most rigorous) means of explaining and predicting cause and effect; techniques of observation, operational definition, hypothesis formation, hypothesis testing, experimentation, replication, and dissemination of results.

scientific psychology synonym with SciPsy
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Theories and principles of psychology that only use natural, empirical explanatory constructs.

scientific understanding
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Explanation + prediction; the ability to scientifically explain the cause(s) and acurately predict future occurrences of some phenomenon.

scientism
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

The fundamentalist belief that science can do no wrong and will ultimately answer any question worth answering while in the process saving humankind as a bonus.

SciPsy synonym with scientific psychology
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Theories and principles of psychology that only use natural, empirical explanatory constructs.

secularism
Humanist Activism and Organization [HAO 100]

The principle wherein government and public life are independent of organized religion.

secularism
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

1. A focus on worldly concerns, rather than religious matters. 2. The view that religion should be separated from government. 3. Skepticism or rejection of religious belief.

selective attention
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The process by which the human brain screens out stimuli that cannot be processed by short term memory, so that only a manageable amount of information passes to it from sensory memory.

self-determination
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

The directing of one's own fate or action without compulsion; the right of individuals to create their own meaning and values in life and to shape their lives accordingly.

sensation synonym with perception
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The result of sensory reception area neurons firing circuits of neurons in sensory association areas and memory circuits so that they become biochemically associated with a sensory code, providing an image or sensory experience in the brain.

sensory experience
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The Central Nervous System function that creates perception, so that humans can attach meaning to sensory stimuli.

sensory memory synonym with SM
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The first component of human memory that stores a veridical (true, unprocessed) copy of a sensory stimulus for approximately .25 to .50 of a second and passes it on to short term memory.

sensory receptors
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Specialized neurons that allow sense organs to transduce an energy source external to the Central Nervous System into neural impulses.

sensory transmission
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The process in which the sensory receptor neuron transduces the stimulus energy into neurochemical energy and fires, sending the resulting neural code up the sensory fibers to the appropriate reception area in the brain.

Sherbert Test
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

A form of the Strict Scrutiny Test that requires government, in the absence of a compelling interest, to exempt an individual from a religiously neutral law that substantially burdens that individual’s religious practices. (The law itself is not invalidated.)

short term memory synonym with STM
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The second component of human memory that receives information from the sensory memory, stores it and works on it for 15 to 30 seconds, and passes it on to long term memory.

situation ethics
Ethics [ETH 100]

Category of moral theories based on situationalism, the notion that moral judgments must be based on the dynamics of each situation rather than on rules.

situationalism
Ethics [ETH 100]

The notion that moral judgments must be based on the dynamics of each situation rather than on rules.

skepticism
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

Doubt or unbelief with regard to a claim or belief, especially with regard to religious beliefs.

SM synonym with sensory memory
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The first component of human memory that stores a veridical (true, unprocessed) copy of a sensory stimulus for approximately .25 to .50 of a second and passes it on to short term memory.

Smith Rule
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

The doctrine adopted in Employment Division of Oregon v. Smith that government is not required to accommodate a religious entity or individual by granting an exemption when one of its religiously-neutral, generally applicable laws burdens religious practice.

Socratic method
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

A method of teaching by question and answer, especially the use of questions to draw out latent assumptions.

soft determinism
Ethics [ETH 100]

The view that, although everything (including human inclination) has a cause, actions can be free as long as they are not externally constrained.

soft money
Humanist Activism and Organization [HAO 100]

Money raised by national political parties which cannot be used towards an individual candidacy, but can be used in political advertisements to promote a particular party or issue.

speciation
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

The process of origin of new species. It can occur in a variety of ways, which usually involve some degree of reproductive isolation between different populations of the same species. With time, the two populations diverge enough genetically that they cannot interbreed any longer, and are therefore considered different species.

specification
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

According to ID proponent William Dembski, a measure of how well a certain structure matches a given function. Specification has to be added to complexity to generate biological structures that are adapted to live in a certain environment. While scientists would agree with this general picture, they do not see any reason why the coupling of specification and complexity requires an intelligent designer and cannot be achieved by natural means, such as through the biological process of natural selection.

spirituality
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

That which is experienced when an individual is moved to the heights or depths of his or her being in positive and meaningful ways.

Stimulus-Response Psychology synonym with S-R Psychology
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The branch of psychological theorists who scientifically studied everything that went into the brain (stimuli) and everything that came out of the brain (responses) to learn what went on in between.

STM synonym with short term memory
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

The second component of human memory that receives information from the sensory memory, stores it and works on it for 15 to 30 seconds, and passes it on to long term memory.

stress
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Too much of some stimulus.

strict scrutiny test synonym with Compelling Interest Test
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

Test used by the court when government laws or actions interfere with the fundamental liberties of individuals or groups, based on religious or other associations. Government must show the law is neeeded to protect a compelling interest (such as children's safety).

subjective absolutism
Ethics [ETH 100]

Moral theory postulating that an action is right if someone approves of it.

subjective relativism
Ethics [ETH 100]

The view that truth is relative to what an individual believes.

Sunday blue laws
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

Laws prohibiting (or requiring) certain forms of conduct, such as drinking alcohol or closing a business, because they are carried out on Sunday.

supernatural
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

Related to powers or phenomena that are (claimed to be) above or beyond natural laws.

supernaturalism
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

That which is above and beyond the laws of nature; that which is magical or mystical.

supernaturalism
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

Belief in divine agency or powers not subject to natural law.

superstrings theory
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

A novel theory in physics that attempts to explain the fundamental structure of the universe in terms of "strings" of energy which, by vibrating at different frequencies, originate all the known physical particles.

TCT
Ethics [ETH 100]

Ten Commandments Theory of morality -- ethical theory posulating that right actions are those that conform to the Ten Commandments.

teleological synonym with consequentialist
Ethics [ETH 100]

Category of moral theories claiming that the rightness of an action depends on its consequences.

teleological
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

Name used to describe the argument for God's existence which posits that the world is characterized by such a degree of planning that there must have been a supreme designer.

telos
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

Greek word representing Aristotle's idea that living beings have an innate natural tendency toward a particular end. It is not clear to what extent Aristotle meant this to be a property put in place by a supernatural entity as opposed to being a natural characteristic of life.

Ten Commandments
Ethics [ETH 100]

Moral code handed directly by God to Hebrew tribal leader Moses on Mount Sinai, according to Judeo-Christian tradition.

The Origin of Species
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

The title of Charles Darwin's 1859 book that presented the first coherent picture of the modern theory of evolution.

theism
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

Belief in one or more personal gods or goddesses.

theist
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

Person who believes in one or more personal gods or goddesses.

theistic evolution
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

The idea that evolution does occur, but it is guided by God.

theists
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

People who believe in one or more personal gods or goddesses.

theists
Ethics [ETH 100]

People who believe in God.

theology
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

The study of theistic religion.

theory
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

A more mature, more complex, and wider-ranging human mental construct than a hypothesis.

totalitarian
Humanist Activism and Organization [HAO 100]

A form of government in which the controlling political apparatus exercises absolute control over all aspects of life, with no dissent or opposition tolerated.

totalitarian
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

Related to a system of government which exercises absolute control over all aspects of life, where the individual is subordinated to the state, and where independent political and cultural expression is suppressed.

transcendent
Humanist Studies [HUM 100]

Above and independent of the material universe.

transubstantiation
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

The Catholic religious belief that the consecration of the wine and bread during the Mass actually transforms these substances into the blood and body of Jesus Christ. For Protestants the substances do not change, but are merely representative of Christ’s sacrifice.

trauma
Psychology and Humanism [PSH 100]

Central nervous system (~CNS) damage which reprograms or deprograms a psychological repertoire; one of the 3 natural determinants of psychology.

unreflective hedonism
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

The idea that to think requires hard work, so why bother?

unreflective instrumentalism
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

The concept that thought has no value unless it is of practical importance, yielding a disdain for theoretical inquiry and for intellectual pursuit per se. This attitude is rooted in rampant capitalism, where the Protestant work ethic and material success are more esteemed than esoterica.

utilitarianism
Ethics [ETH 100]

The view that an action is right if it maximizes happiness, everyone considered.

voluntary euthanasia
Religion and Spirituality [RSP 100]

The act of individual who, under no pressure from any persons whatsoever, decides that the termination of his or her life is the best option, and requests assistance in dying.

worldview
Ethics [ETH 100]

Comprehensive set of ideas that helps us make sense of a wide range of important issues.

writs of certiorari
Law and Politics [LAP 100]

Announcements issued by the U.S. Supreme Court that it will review a lower court decision. The losing party in a lower court must first file a petition for this writ before the Court will consider the case (a rare occurrence).

YEC synonym with young-Earth creationism
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

The biblically-based belief that our planet is only a few thousand years old.

young-Earth creationism synonym with YEC
Science and Humanism [SCH 100]

The biblically-based belief that our planet is only a few thousand years old.

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