For the Week ending 09/28/12
Directions: Choose the word that matches with the definition and appropriately fits into the blank space in the sentence.
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political theory holding that all power should be vested in one ruler or other authority.
Poland's failure to form a strong central authority versus Prussia's _______ is still the most probable explanation for the differing outcomes. |
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unselfish concern for the welfare of others; selflessness
I believe the human drive toward cooperation and _______ is far stronger than our drive to compete or retaliate, and is much more rewarded in our culture. |
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the view that experience, especially of the senses, is the only source of knowledge; the metaphysical theory that all ideas are derived from sensuous experience—i.e. there are no innate or a priori conceptions
Devoid of the profoundness of a purely speculative philosophy, his essay, 'Cosmos,' treats contemplation of the universe, and is based upon a rational _______, that is to say, upon the results of the facts registered by science, and tested by the operations of the intellect. |
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pursuit of or devotion to pleasure, especially to the pleasures of the senses; doctrine that behavior is motivated by the desire for pleasure and the avoidance of pain
The self-interested desires to experience pleasure and to avoid pain have played an especially prominent role in the debate, since egoism, often called _______, maintains that these are our only ultimate desires. |
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an extreme form of skepticism that denies all existence; a doctrine holding that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated
The term _______ is sometimes used … to denote a general mood of despair at the pointlessness of existence. |