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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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.

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