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Physics
The study of the physical world according to how things happen in the world of material objects.
Ethics
The study of morals in relation to how things ought to happen in the world of human beings.
Logic
The study of logical principles and pure thought, independent of any objects.
Metaphysics
The study of pure concepts as they relate to moral or physical experience.
Categorical Imperative
A rule for behavior that applies not hypothetically (depending on one's desires) but categorically (which is to say, universally and regardless of one's desires). Its opposite is a hypothetical imperative. Kant believes that only one rule fits this description: act always so that your maxim could hold universally. This rule is often referred to simply as "the categorical imperative."
A posteriori
The opposite of a priori. Known by experience.
A priori
That which cannot be known without prior experience. For instance, it is a priori that bachelors are unmarried, because one does not need to go check anything in the world to know that this is so.
Maxim
Rules which underlie one's actions. For Kant, there are two kinds of maxims, the categorical imperative, which is a law of reason, and all other maxims, which cannot be. The categorical imperative itself works by testing the maxim of an act, seeing whether it is universal in scope.
Empirical
Based on or relating to observational evidence. Thus an empirical fact would be a fact substantiated by evidence.
Enlightenment
A period in European intellectual history from the later seventeenth century to the early nineteenth characterized by confidence in reason and a willingness to challenge traditional assumptions.
Reason
The capacity for logical analysis and argument. "Reason" in this sense is related to the term "reasoning," which refers to logical deliberation or argument, and to the notion of giving "reasons" for one's beliefs. Enlightenment thinkers like Kant believed that reason could provide clear answers to basic philosophical, scientific, and political questions.
Will
The faculty that enables us to pursue a course of action and influence events in the world, as in "freewill," "an act of will," "impose your will on someone."
