DEFINITIONS

from Merriam-Webster Dictionary & Wikipedia

I present here some definitions of important words and concepts so as to avoid confusion over some of the topics discussed:

ABORTION

the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus: such as 

a : spontaneous expulsion of a human fetus during the first 12 weeks of gestation — compare miscarriage 

b : induced expulsion of a human fetus

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

1 : a branch of computer science dealing with the simulation of intelligent behavior in computers 

2 : the capability of a machine to imitate intelligent human behavior 

“Whether at semiconductor giant Intel or retailer Gap Inc., companies across disparate industries are increasingly working to incorporate artificial intelligence into their operations.”

— Anne Sraders, Fortune, 10 Nov. 2021

ATONEMENT

1 : reparation for an offense or injury : satisfaction a story of sin and atonement 

He wanted to find a way to make atonement for his sins. 

2 : the reconciliation of God and humankind through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ 

3 Christian Science : the exemplifying of human oneness with God

4 obsolete : reconciliation

AWARENESS

the quality or state of being aware : knowledge and understanding that something is happening or exists

consciousness, recognition, realization, cognizance, perception, apprehension, understanding, grasp, appreciation. acknowledgement, knowledge. sensitivity to, sensibility to, insight into.

BABY

1a(1) : an extremely young child especially : infant

(2) : an extremely young animal

b : the youngest of a group He is the baby of the family.

2a : one that is like a baby (as in behavior) When it comes to getting shots, I’m a real baby.

b : something that is one’s special responsibility, achievement, or interest The project was his baby.

3 slang

a : girl, woman —often used in address

b : boy, man —often used in address Hey baby, nice car!

4 : person, thing is one tough baby

BELIEF

1 : a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing

2 : something that is accepted, considered to be true, or held as an opinion : something believed an individual’s religious or political beliefs especially : a tenet or body of tenets held by a group the beliefs of the Catholic Church 

3 : conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon especially when based on examination of evidence belief in the validity of scientific statements

BIRTH

1a : the emergence of a new individual from the body of its parent

b : the act or process of bringing forth young from the womb

2 : a state resulting from being born especially at a particular time or place a Southerner by birth

3a : lineage, extraction

b : high or noble birth

4a archaic : one that is born

b : beginning, start

CONCEPTION

1a(1) : the process of becoming pregnant involving fertilization or implantation or both

(2) : embryo, fetus

b : beginning “Joy had the like conception in our eyes … “— William Shakespeare

2a : the capacity, function, or process of forming or understanding ideas or abstractions or their symbols He directed the project from conception to completion.

b : a general idea : concept We get the conception of an animal … by comparing different animals …— John Stuart Mill

c : a complex product of abstract or reflective thinking the philosopher’s conception of reality

d : the sum of a person’s ideas and beliefs concerning something his conception of the American dream

3 : the originating of something in the mind an artist’s conception of how the city would look a hundred years from now

EARTH

the planet on which we live that is third in order from the sun

“God sits above the circle of the earth.”

 Isaiah 40:24 (NLT)

EMBRYO

1a : an animal in the early stages of growth and differentiation that are characterized by cleavage, the laying down of fundamental tissues, and the formation of primitive organs and organ systems especially : the developing human individual from the time of implantation to the end of the eighth week after conception

b archaic : a vertebrate at any stage of development prior to birth or hatching

2 : the young sporophyte of a seed plant usually comprising a rudimentary plant with plumule, radicle, and cotyledons

3a : something as yet undeveloped

b : a beginning or undeveloped state of something productions seen in embryo during their out-of-town tryout period— Henry Hewes

FERTILIZATION

: an act or process of making fertile: such as

a : the application of fertilizer

b(1) : an act or process of fecundation, insemination, or pollination —not used technically

(2) : the process of union of two gametes whereby the somatic chromosome number is restored and the development of a new individual is initiated

FETUS

an unborn or unhatched vertebrate especially after attaining the basic structural plan of its kind specifically : a developing human from usually two months after conception to birth — compare embryo

HISTORY

The Evolution of Your DNA:

• 3.5 billion years ago, life began on Earth
• 2 million years ago, the first humans emerged from Africa.
• Homo Sapiens about 30,000 years ago
• 108 billion people have since been born.
• 99.9% of your DNA is shared with your fellow humans.
• 0.1% is the difference that makes you who you are.

IMPLANTATION

1a : the act or process of implanting something

b : the state resulting from being implanted

2 in placental mammals : the process of attachment of the early embryo to the maternal uterine wall

LGBTQ2SIA+

An acronym for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Transsexual, Queer and Questioning Two-Spirit, Intersex, Asexual, Plus people.

LOGIC

Essential Meaning of logic

1 : a proper or reasonable way of thinking about or understanding something If you just use a little logic, you’ll see I’m right. the rules of logic See More Examples 

2 : a particular way of thinking about something I could not understand her logic in keeping the dog. [=I could not understand her reason for keeping the dog] I fail to see your logic. = I fail to see the logic behind/of your reasoning. faulty logic 

3 : the science that studies the formal processes used in thinking and reasoning a professor of logic

Full Definition of logic

1a(1) : a science that deals with the principles and criteria of validity of inference and demonstration : the science of the formal principles of reasoning a professor of logic 

(2) : a branch or variety of logic modal logic Boolean logic 

(3) : a branch of semiotics especially : syntactics 

(4) : the formal principles of a branch of knowledge the logic of grammar 

b(1) : a particular mode of reasoning viewed as valid or faulty She spent a long time explaining the situation, but he failed to see her logic. 

(2) : relevance, propriety could not understand the logic of such an action 

c : interrelation or sequence of facts or events when seen as inevitable or predictable By the logic of events, anarchy leads to dictatorship. 

d : the arrangement of circuit elements (as in a computer) needed for computation also : the circuits themselves 

2 : something that forces a decision apart from or in opposition to reason the logic of war

MEDICINE

1 a substance or preparation used in treating disease cough medicine 

b : something that affects well-being he’s bad medicine— Zane Grey 

2a : the science and art dealing with the maintenance of health and the prevention, alleviation, or cure of disease She’s interested in a career in medicine. 

b : the branch of medicine concerned with the nonsurgical treatment of disease 

3 : a substance (such as a drug or potion) used to treat something other than disease 

4 : an object held in traditional American Indian belief to give control over natural or magical forces also : magical power or a magical rite

PHILOSOPHY

Philosophy (from Greek: φιλοσοφία, philosophia, ‘love of wisdom’)[1][2] is the study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language.[3][4] Such questions are often posed as problems[5][6] to be studied or resolved. Some sources claim the term was coined by Pythagoras (c. 570 – c. 495 BCE);[7][8] others dispute this story,[9][10] arguing that Pythagoreans merely claimed use of a preexisting term.[11] Philosophical methods include questioning, critical discussion, rational argument, and systematic presentation.[12][13][i] 

Historically, philosophy encompassed all bodies of knowledge and a practitioner was known as a philosopher.[14] From the time of Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle to the 19th century, “natural philosophy” encompassed astronomy, medicine, and physics.[15] For example, Newton‘s 1687 Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy later became classified as a book of physics. In the 19th century, the growth of modern research universities led academic philosophy and other disciplines to professionalize and specialize.[16][17] Since then, various areas of investigation that were traditionally part of philosophy have become separate academic disciplines, and namely the social sciences such as psychology, sociology, linguistics, and economics. 

Today, major subfields of academic philosophy include metaphysics, which is concerned with the fundamental nature of existence and reality, epistemology, which studies the nature of knowledge and belief, ethics, which is concerned with moral value, and logic, which studies the rules of inference that allow one to derive conclusions from true premises.[18][19] Other notable subfields include philosophy of science, political philosophy, aesthetics, philosophy of language, and philosophy of mind. 

-Wikipedia

POLITICS

1a : the art or science of government 

b : the art or science concerned with guiding or influencing governmental policy 

c : the art or science concerned with winning and holding control over a government 

2 : political actions, practices, or policies 

3a : political affairs or business especially : competition between competing interest groups or individuals for power and leadership (as in a government) 

b : political life especially as a principal activity or profession 

c : political activities characterized by artful and often dishonest practices 

4 : the political opinions or sympathies of a person 

5a : the total complex of relations between people living in society 

b : relations or conduct in a particular area of experience especially as seen or dealt with from a political point of view

RADICAL INDIVIDUALISM

: the practice or advocacy of individualism in social and economic relations emphasizing personal liberty and independence, self-reliance, resourcefulness, self-direction of the individual, and free competition in enterprise

RELIGION

1: the belief in a god or in a group of gods Many people turn to religion for comfort in a time of crisis. 

2 : an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods There are many religions, such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism. Shinto is a religion that is unique to Japan. See More Examples 

3 informal : an interest, a belief, or an activity that is very important to a person or group Hockey is a religion in Canada. Politics are a religion to him.

SCIENCE

Essential Meaning of science

1 : knowledge about or study of the natural world based on facts learned through experiments and observation modern science the laws of science See More Examples 

2 : a particular area of scientific study (such as biology, physics, or chemistry) : a particular branch of science Students are required to take two sciences. students majoring in a science 

3 : a subject that is formally studied in a college, university, etc. the science of linguistics 

SCIENCE FICTION

fiction dealing principally with the impact of actual or imagined science on society or individuals or having a scientific factor as an essential orienting component

SENTIENT

1 : responsive to or conscious of sense impressions sentient beings

2 : aware

3 : finely sensitive in perception or feeling

SEX

1a : either of the two major forms of individuals that occur in many species and that are distinguished respectively as female or male especially on the basis of their reproductive organs and structures In the past, couples could hold fast to their dreams about their baby’s sex until the moment of truth in the delivery room.— Jacquelyn Mitchard 

b : the sum of the structural, functional, and sometimes behavioral characteristics of organisms that distinguish males and females Doctors can alter the physical characteristics of sex, but bodily sex does not determine gender.— Dinitia Smith 

c : the state of being male or female … Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on sex.— Tamar Lewin 

d : males or females considered as a group He gave the minister a sly look, daring him to disparage the female sex.— Evelyn Anthony 

2a : sexually motivated phenomena or behavior 

b : sexual intercourse 

3 : genitalia 

SPACE

1: a period of time also : its duration 

2a : a limited extent in one, two, or three dimensions : distance, area, volume 

b : an extent set apart or available parking space floor space 

c : the distance from other people or things that a person needs in order to remain comfortable invading my personal space 

3 : one of the degrees between or above or below the lines of a musical staff — compare line 

4a : a boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction infinite space and time 

b : physical space independent of what occupies it 

— called also absolute space 

5 : the region beyond the earth’s atmosphere or beyond the solar system 

6a : a blank area separating words or lines 

b : material used to produce such blank area especially : a piece of type less than one en in width 

7 : a set of mathematical elements and especially of abstractions of all the points on a line, in a plane, or in physical space especially : a set of mathematical entities with a set of axioms of geometric character — compare metric space, topological space, vector space 

8a : linage 

b : broadcast time available especially to advertisers 

9 : accommodations on a public vehicle 

10a : the opportunity to assert or experience one’s identity or needs freely 

b : an opportunity for privacy or time to oneself