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free will

(Encyclopedia) free will, in philosophy, the doctrine that an individual, regardless of forces external to him, can and does choose at least some of his actions. The existence of free will is…

will-o'-the-wisp

(Encyclopedia) will-o'-the-wisp, phenomenon known also as ignis fatuus and jack-o'-lantern. It is seen at night as a pale, flickering light over marshland. There is no generally accepted explanation…

predestination

(Encyclopedia) predestination, in theology, doctrine that asserts that God predestines from eternity the salvation of certain souls. So-called double predestination, as in Calvinism, is the added…

living will

(Encyclopedia) living will or advance health care directive, legal document in which a person expresses in advance his or her wishes concerning the use of artificial life support and other medical…

Joel, book of the Bible

(Encyclopedia) Joel, prophetic book of the Bible. It is a collection of the oracles of an otherwise unknown prophet, dated variously from the 9th to the 3d cent. b.c., though a date in c.400 b.c. is…

determinism

(Encyclopedia) determinism, philosophical thesis that every event is the inevitable result of antecedent causes. Applied to ethics and psychology, determinism usually involves a denial of free will,…

Buridan, Jean

(Encyclopedia) Buridan, JeanBuridan, Jeanby&oobreve;rˈĭdən, Fr. zhäN bürēdäNˈ [key], d. c.1358, French scholastic philosopher. Rector of the Univ. of Paris, he was a follower of William of Occam…

Obadiah, book of the Bible

(Encyclopedia) Obadiah, short prophetic book of the Bible. The prophet is otherwise unknown. The oracle which comprises this book dates from after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in…

free energy

(Encyclopedia) free energy or Gibbs free energy, quantity derived from the relationships between heat and work studied in thermodynamics and used as a measure of the relative stability of a physical…