philosophy - a belief (or system of beliefs) accepted as authoritative by some group or schoolnuclear deterrence - the military doctrine that an enemy will be deterred from using nuclear weapons as long as he can be destroyed as a consequence; "when two nations both resort to nuclear deterrence the consequence could be mutual destruction" belief - any cognitive content held as true abolitionism - the doctrine that calls for the abolition of slavery amoralism - the doctrine that moral distinctions are invalid animalism - the doctrine that human beings are purely animal in nature and lacking a spiritual nature animism - the doctrine that all natural objects and the universe itself have souls; "animism is common among primitive peoples" asceticism - the doctrine that through renunciation of worldly pleasures it is possible to achieve a high spiritual or intellectual state creationism - the literal belief in the account of creation given in the Book of Genesis; "creationism denies the theory of evolution of species" credo, creed - any system of principles or beliefs dogma - a doctrine or code of beliefs accepted as authoritative; "he believed all the Marxist dogma" dualism - the doctrine that reality consists of two basic opposing elements, often taken to be mind and matter (or mind and body), or good and evil dynamism - any of the various theories or doctrines or philosophical systems that attempt to explain the phenomena of the universe in terms of some immanent force or energy epicureanism - a doctrine of hedonism that was defended by several ancient Greek philosophers ethicism - a doctrine that ethics and ethical ideas are valid and important; "his ethicism often led him to moralize" expansionism - the doctrine of expanding the territory or the economic influence of a country formalism - the doctrine that formal structure rather than content is what should be represented gospel - a doctrine that is believed to be of great importance; "Newton's writings were gospel for those who followed" gymnosophy - the doctrine of a sect of Hindu philosophers who practiced nudity and asceticism and meditation imitation - the doctrine that representations of nature or human behavior should be accurate imitations internationalism - the doctrine that nations should cooperate because their common interests are more important than their differences unilateralism - the doctrine that nations should conduct their foreign affairs individualistically without the advice or involvement of other nations irredentism, irridentism - the doctrine that irredenta should be controlled by the country to which they are ethnically or historically related literalism - the doctrine of realistic (literal) portrayal in art or literature majority rule, democracy - the doctrine that the numerical majority of an organized group can make decisions binding on the whole group monism - the doctrine that reality consists of a single basic substance or element multiculturalism - the doctrine that several different cultures (rather than one national culture) can co-exist peacefully and equitably in a single country nationalism - the doctrine that your national culture and interests are superior to any other nationalism - the doctrine that nations should act independently (rather than collectively) to attain their goals nihilism - a revolutionary doctrine that advocates destruction of the social system for its own sake pluralism - the doctrine that reality consists of several basic substances or elements populism - the political doctrine that supports the rights and powers of the common people in their struggle with the privileged elite presentism - the doctrine that the Scripture phrophecies of the Apocalypse (as in the Book of Revelations) are presently in the course of being fulfilled |