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glossary..P

parameter
a value which controls the effect of some operation or procedure
parametric polymorphism
a kind of polymorphic type system in which a polymorphic function takes an (implicit or explicit) type parameter and processes in a uniform manner arguments of a polymorphic type involving a type variable which is instantiated by the type parameter.
participate
take part in
participatory democracy
a democracy in which people may participate directly in decision making processes rather than indirectly throught the election of representatives.
See also:
representative democracy
philosophy
the search for truth through reason, or for wisdom, by all means.
piecemeal
piece by piece, gradually
piecemeal engineering
a kind of social engineering advocated by Karl Popper.
See also:
utopian engineering
performative utterence
an utterence which, while appearing to make a statement, should (according to J.L.Austin) be understood as performing an action, e.g. "I promise...".
physicalism
the doctrine that physical reality is all that there is
platonism
(after Plato) the doctrine that abstract entities really do exist (often specialised to some particular domain, e.g. mathematics)
pleonasm
the use of more words than are needed to give the sense
polymorphic
Coming in various different forms, e.g. the caterpillar and the butterfly are different forms of one polymorphic insect.
polymorphic type
a generic type, usually involving a type variable, which can be instantiated to multiple specific types
polymorphic type system
a type system is polymorphic if it is possible in it to define functions which operate over more than one type of data. Such a function would have a polymorphic type.
polymorphism
the property of being polymorphic.
see also:
ad hoc polymorphism
coercion
inclusion polymorphism
overloading
parametric polymorphism
universal polymorphism
posit
postulate
positivism
Positivist philosophy in its broadest sense is a general tendency in philosophy which embraces aspects of the thought of many philosophers including Humean scepticism, the work of Comte (who coined the term), elements of utilitarianism and pragmatism, and logical positivism. The term also has application in other disciplines, e.g. legal positivism.
postulate
(noun) an assumption used as premise for deductive inference, or (verb) the act of adopting a postulate (alternatively, posit). This term is sometimes (e.g. in Aristotle) used when it is intended to avoid assertion of the truth of the postulate, otherwise the term axiom may be used (which sometimes, e.g. in Aristotle, suggests truth, but sometimes not e.g. in Hilbert).
predicate
that part of a sentence which affirms something of the subject of the sentence
predicate logic
a logic in which the internal structure of propositions is exposed by constructing atomic propositions from predicate applied to some subject, or relation expressed between several. By contrast with a propositional logic in which atomic propositions are not further be analysed.
predicative
formed or contained in the predicate
predicative type theory
a type theory in which objects may be defined using predicates involving quantification over some whole of which the defined object is an element
private
known only to an individual or to a select group
private language (1)
a language which can, in principle, only be understood by one person
private language (2)
a language in which it is possible for an individual to talk (or write) about things which are private to him
program (computing)
a set of instructions for a computer prescribing how some task is to be performed
programming language (computing)
a language designed for programming computers
projectivism
a projectivist theory about some domain of discourse is one which claims that statements about that domain are not objective claims about reality but are projections onto the world of feelings or other mental states of the speaker, e.g. the position of David Hume and of logical positivism about ethical statements.
proof theoretic strength
a measure of the strength of a formal logical system.
proposition
that which is expressed by a statement
propositional connective
a word used to construct a compound proposition from one or more constituent propositions, e.g. and, or, not.
propositional function
in the context of some logic, a function whose value is a proposition or a truth value, as appropriate. In classical logic, a boolean valued function. Examples include the boolean operators.
propositional logic
an elementary form of logic concerned with truth functional combinations of atomic propositions
propositional tautology
a valid formula of propositional logic
See also:
tautology

psychologism
the intrusion of psychological considerations into logic (also used similarly in relation to other disciplines)
pure
unmixed, unadulterated
pure type system (logic)
a type system presented in a systematic way devised by Henk Barendregt. This presentation is helpful (inter alia) in making clear the interpretation of these type theories as logics under the propositions-as-types interpretation.
pyrrhonism
the philosophy of Pyrrho of Elis (c300 b.c.), the ultimate scepticism (see also: )


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