Born in 1596 in La Haye, France, to a lawyer father. Lost his mother at age 13.5 months. Studied at Jesuit College of La Flèche from 1606 to 1615. Obtained law degree from Poitiers in 1616
Nominalism rejects universals and abstract objects as mere names. Term "nominalism" emerged from medieval debates with Roscellinus. First clearly stated by Plato in Republic, rejecting nominalism
Idealism asserts that reality is fundamentally mental or consciousness-based. Term entered English by 1743, first used in metaphysical sense by Wolff. Plato laid foundation with absolute, unchanging ideas as highest reality
Soul is the essence of a person, deciding behavior and being incorporeal. Soul exists after death and can think. Soul is continually reborn in subsequent bodies through metempsychosis
Solipsism asserts that only one's mind is certain to exist. Knowledge of external world and other minds is uncertain. External world might not exist independently of mind
Transcendence means climbing or going beyond in Latin. Describes fundamental structures of being, not ontology. Grounded in reason and empirical observation