Objectivism and subjectivism in Islamic theology

see Ash‘ariyya and Mu‘tazila.

Objectual interpretation of quantifiers

see Quantifiers, substitutional and objectual.

Observation and theory in social sciences

see Theory and observation in social sciences.

Ockham, William of

see William of Ockham.

Oersted

see Ørsted, Hans Christian.

Ontological Argument

see God, arguments for the existence of.

Opacity

see Indirect discourse. Intensional logics. Modal logic, philosophical issues in. Propositional attitude statements. Semantics, possible worlds.

Operators, modal

see Modal operators.

Organon

see Aristotle.

Original sin

see Sin.

Objectivity

By Miller, Alexander

Objectivity is one of the central concepts of metaphysics. Philosophers distinguish between objectivity and agreement: ‘Ice-cream tastes nice’ is not objective merely because there is widespread agreement that ...

Objectivity

Objectivity is one of the central concepts of metaphysics. Philosophers distinguish between objectivity and agreement: ‘Ice-cream tastes nice’ is not objective merely because there is widespread agreement that ...

Obligation, political

By Simmons, A. John

The problem of political obligation has been one of the central concerns of political philosophy throughout the history of the subject. Political obligations are the moral obligations of ...

Obligation, political

The problem of political obligation has been one of the central concerns of political philosophy throughout the history of the subject. Political obligations are the moral obligations of ...

Observation

By Kosso, Peter

Observation is of undeniable importance in the empirical sciences. As the source of information from the world itself, observation has the role of both motivating and testing theories. ...

Occasionalism

By Hasker, William

Occasionalism is often thought of primarily as a rather desperate solution to the problem of mind–body interaction. Mind and body, it maintains, do not in fact causally affect ...

Occasionalism

By Schmaltz, Tad

Occasionalism was a theory of causation that played an important role in early modern metaphysics. In its most radical form, this theory holds that God is the only ...

Ockhamism

By Finch, Alicia

Ockhamism, so named because it was developed and defended by the fourteenth-century philosopher William of Ockham, is a long-enduring response to fatalist arguments. Fatalism, the thesis that ...

Omnipotence

By Hoffman, Joshua; Rosenkrantz, Gary

Traditional theism understands God to be the greatest being possible. According to the traditional conception, God possesses certain great-making properties or perfections, including necessary existence, omniscience, perfect goodness, ...

Omnipresence

By Leftow, Brian

Western Scripture and religious experience find God present everywhere. Western thinkers make sense of this as their concepts of God dictate. Pantheists hold that God’s being everywhere is ...

Omniscience

By Flint, Thomas P.

The concept of omniscience has received great attention in the history of Western philosophy, principally because of its connections with the Western religious tradition, which views God as ...

Ontological commitment

By Jubien, Michael

A person may believe in the existence of God, or numbers or ghosts. Such beliefs may be asserted, perhaps in a theory. Assertions of the existence of specific ...

Ontology

By Craig, Edward

The word ‘ontology’ is used to refer to philosophical investigation of existence, or being. Such investigation may be directed towards the concept of being, asking what ‘being’ means, ...

Ontology in Indian philosophy

By Ambuel, David

All Indian philosophical traditions are deeply engaged with ontology, the study of being, since clarity about the nature of reality is at the heart of three intimately connected ...

Ontotheology

By Halteman, Matthew C.

‘Ontotheology’ has two main meanings, one arising from its usage by Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) and a second from its usage by Martin Heidegger (1889-1976). Though Kant’s influence on ...