DIALLELON . circular reasoning, reasoning that, when traced backward from its conclusion,...

d’Alembert Jean Le Rond (1717–83), French mathematician, philosopher, and Encyclopedist. According...

Damascene, John See JOHN OF DAMASCUS.

Damascius (c.462–c.550), Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, last head of the Athenian Academy...

Darwin, Charles See DARWINISM.

Darwinism the view that biological species evolve primarily by means of...

Darwinism, social See SOCIAL BIOLOGY.

Dasein See HEIDEGGER.

David See COMMENTARIES ON ARISTOTLE.

Davidson Donald (b.1917), American metaphysician and philosopher of mind and language....

de Beauvoir, Simone See EXISTENTIALISM. decidability, as a property of sets, the existence...

decidable See DECIDABILITY.

decision theory the theory of rational decision, often called 'rational choice theory'...

decision tree See DECISION THEORY.

declining marginal utility See UTILITARIANISM.

decomposability See MODULARITY.

deconstruction a demonstration of the incompleteness or incoherence of a philosophical...

Dedekind Richard (1831–1916), German mathematician, one of the most important figures...

Dedekind cut See DEDEKIND.

de dicto of what is said (or of the proposition), as opposed...

de dicto necessity See NECESSITY.

deducibility relation See DEDUCTION, Appendix of. Special Symbols. deduction, a finite sequence...

deduction, natural See DEDUCTION.

deduction, transcendental See KANT.

deduction of the categories See KANT. deduction theorem, a result about certain systems of...

deductive closure See CLOSURE.

deductive completeness See COMPLETENESS.

deductive explanation See COVERING LAW MODEL.

deductive justification See JUSTIFICATION.

deductive-nomological model See COVERING LAW. MODE.