Faculty

(fak-ul-te.) [L. facultas.] In scholastic parlance, a term by which is understood the different depts. of a university, divided according to the curriculum of arts and sciences taught therein. In most cases there are + F.: of arts, including humanity and philosophy; of theology of physic; and of civil law.(Law.) A privilege granted to a person, by favor and indulgence, of doing that which, by the strict letter of the law, he ought not to do.-(Philos.) A power or capacity inherent in the human mind; as, understanding, will, memory, imagination, and the like. If it be apo wer exerted by the body alone,it is called a corporeal or animal F.; if it belong to the mind, it is styled a rational F.; and it may further be distinguished into a natural F., or that by which the body is nourished, and a vital, or that by which life is preserved. [s. 353]