TST Working Paper: This is part of a curated set of formal works developed for serious argument, ongoing refinement, stronger sourcing, and future academic submission.

Some people boil philosophy down to a list of definitions. In one sense, that is not entirely wrong. A philosophy, religion, science, or tradition can be partly understood through its tradition-specific vocabulary. Every framework has its own key terms, and those terms shape how people think inside that system.

But definitions alone are too small. A better way to think about philosophy is in terms of frameworks. A framework is an organized set of ideas, assumptions, categories, methods, and vocabulary that helps people interpret reality, meaning, knowledge, and life.

One important lens into any framework is its framework-specific vocabulary. Those definitions matter. A lot. If we want to think clearly, we need to know how key terms are being used, how they connect, where they differ, and how one thinker’s meaning compares with another’s.

The definitions below reflect my current understanding of important philosophical concepts with a TST Philosophy view. They support science-first philosophy, but they also serve a broader purpose: they give us a starting point for comparing ideas, testing meanings, and entering better conversations about reality, truth, belief, ethics, and the human experience.

Each entry includes a short definition, a few related terms, and, when available, a link to a fuller article where I expand the idea.

Alphabetical List of Definitions

Empirical Idea — An empirical idea is an idea that describes the material world directly and can be tested through observation, evidence, or scientific validation.

Empirically True — An idea is empirically true when it accurately describes the material world and survives observation, evidence, measurement, or scientific testing.

Framework — A framework is an organized set of ideas, assumptions, categories, methods, and vocabulary used to interpret the world.

Idea — An idea is a mental construct connecting two or more impressions. A single impression becomes an idea when the mind relates it to something else.

Identity — Identity is one’s sense of self, shaped by inherited traits, lived experience, and choices.

Impermanence — Impermanence is the truth that reality is always changing; everything flows, shifts, transforms, emerges, and passes away.

Irrational Idea — An irrational idea is an idea not currently anchored in empirical evidence or rational proof.

Irrationally False — An idea is irrationally false when it lacks empirical support, fails logical consistency, or depends on unverified or disproven claims.

Material World — The material world is reality itself: the shared world that exists whether we notice it, name it, believe in it, or not.

Non-Self — Non-Self is the idea that the self is not a fixed thing inside you, but a temporary pattern within the ongoing flow of reality.

Rational Idea — A rational idea is an idea that is logically coherent within a structured framework, even when it describes the material world indirectly.

Rationally True — An idea is rationally true when it is logically consistent within a rational framework and does not depend on irrational assumptions.

Worldview — A worldview is one’s interpretive lens, shaped by personal language, religion, and philosophy.

— map / TST —

Michael Alan Prestwood
Author & Natural Philosopher

Prestwood writes on science-first philosophy, with particular attention to the convergence of disciplines. Drawing on his TST Framework, his work emphasizes rational inquiry grounded in empirical observation while engaging questions at the edges of established knowledge. With TouchstoneTruth positioned as a living touchstone, this work aims to contribute reliable, evolving analysis in an emerging AI era where the credibility of information is increasingly contested.