MIDDLE EASTERN TRADITIONS
As the Middle East is often called the cradle of civilization, it is also the source of some of the earliest philosophical literature. Much of it is devoted to what…
GRADING CRITERIA FOR PHILOSOPHY ESSAYS
GRADING CRITERIA FOR PHILOSOPHY ESSAYS
The eight skills just listed are so central to philosophical writing that we may count them among the criteria most instructors use in grading essay assignments. Keep these eight skills…
BASIC LOGICAL SYMBOLS
BASIC LOGICAL SYMBOLS
¬ one-place logical connective read as “not” or as “is not the case” ~ alternative notation for “not” & two-place logical connective read as “and” ˄ and
AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY
AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY
The earliest indigenous African philosophy to produce written documents emerged during the seventeenth century, especially in Ethiopia. Zera Yacob (1599–1692), whose Hatata (1667) has been compared to René Descartes’ Discourse…
SCHOLASTICISM
SCHOLASTICISM
A general term for those philosophers influenced by the medieval rediscovery of classic texts, Scholasticism is broadly characterized by an interest in logic and disputation and is motivated to resolve…
ARISTOTLE
ARISTOTLE
Aristotle (384–322 BC) was born in Stagira but moved to Athens as a young man to study at Plato’s Academy. Following Plato’s death, Aristotle traveled, became tutor to Alexander the…
THE ELEATIC SCHOOL
THE ELEATIC SCHOOL
Based in the Ionian colony of Elea (modern-day Velia) in southern Italy, and primarily associated with Parmenides (early fifth century BC) and Melissus of Samos (mid fifth century BC), the…
POST-KANTIAN PHILOSOPHY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
POST-KANTIAN PHILOSOPHY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
Kant’s philosophy continued to dominate throughout the nineteenth century, although there were increasing concerns about the overall coherence of his system; in particular, there was doubt as to whether the…
ORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY
ORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY
Between the 1940s and the 1960s, analytic philosophy shifted away from investigating the (supposed) underlying logical structure of language. While it was still primarily concerned with conceptual analysis, this was…
THE PERSONAL ESSAY
THE PERSONAL ESSAY
The personal essay is a self-reflective search for meaning. Unlike most philosophical writing, it is not argumentative. Instead, it is exploratory and speculative, often even somewhat confessional. It is typically…
HERMENEUTICS
HERMENEUTICS
Originally applied to scriptural exegesis (interpretation), hermeneutics is more generally the theory and method of all “textual” interpretation. In the modern context, this refers to both verbal and non-verbal “texts”…
THE ARGUMENTATIVE PAPER
THE ARGUMENTATIVE PAPER
Essays of assertion, affirmation, and refutation are all examples of the argumentative paper. An effective argument relies on factually true premises or premises for which you have strong support.
THE POSITION PAPER
THE POSITION PAPER
A position paper may be viewed as a type of argumentative paper in that it states a claim—your position—concerning a topic, issue, or question and presents a justification for that…
BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy embraces the most ambitious field of inquiry—the universe, including the self and everything both physical and metaphysical. It is impossible to list all the branches of philosophy, which are…
EPISTEMOLOGY
EPISTEMOLOGY
Epistemology is the study of knowledge, including its nature and its extent, and of justification (that is, whether a belief is formed in a valid way to justify its being…
THE ELEATIC SCHOOL
Based in the Ionian colony of Elea (modern-day Velia) in southern Italy, and primarily associated with Parmenides (early fifth century…
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Reexamining Spacetime Substantivalism: A Critique of Modal Arbitrariness and Determinism in Teitel’s Framework
Reexamining Spacetime Substantivalism: A Critique of Modal Arbitrariness and Determinism in Teitel’s Framework
Reexamining Spacetime Substantivalism: A Critique of Modal Arbitrariness and Determinism in Teitel’s Framework
Reexamining Spacetime Substantivalism: A Critique of Modal Arbitrariness and Determinism in Teitel’s Framework
Rule-Following and Artificial Intelligence: A Kripkean Perspective
Rule-Following and Artificial Intelligence: A Kripkean Perspective
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The Eternal Coexistence of Consciousness and Spacetime: A Philosophical Inquiry
Embracing Contradiction: An In-Depth Analysis of Dialetheism
Embracing Contradiction: An In-Depth Analysis of Dialetheism
Analysis of, and Responses to Edmund Gettier’s “Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?”
Analysis of, and Responses to Edmund Gettier’s “Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?”
The Unstable Foundation: A Critique of the Ontological Proof of God’s Existence
The Unstable Foundation: A Critique of the Ontological Proof of God’s Existence
Meta-Modal Actuality: A Dynamic Framework for Possibility, Actualization, and Causality
Meta-Modal Actuality: A Dynamic Framework for Possibility, Actualization, and Causality
Killing, Morality, and the Human Condition: A Philosophical Investigation
Killing, Morality, and the Human Condition: A Philosophical Investigation
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The Intricacy of Existence: A Philosophical Exploration of Complexity, Contingency, and Divine Agency
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The Ethics of Procreation and the Rational Acceptance of Life: A Critical Engagement with Weinberg’s Argument
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Imagination, Consciousness, and the Nature of the Soul: A Philosophical Inquiry
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The Interplay of Karma, Rebirth, and Non-Self in Buddhist Philosophy: A Metaphysical Inquiry
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Metaphysical Perspectives: A Comparative Analysis of Theism and Atheism
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The Infinite Universe, Death, and the Search for Meaning: A Philosophical Exploration of Existence, the Divine, and Human Mortality
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The Ethics of Procreation and the Rational Acceptance of Life: A Critical Engagement with Weinberg’s Argument
Terms & Concepts
Formal fallacy
An error in the structure or form of reasoning. The most common formal fallacies includeAffirming the Consequent and Denying the Antecedent. A formally fallacious argument is aninvalid one. https://youtube.com/shorts/WCgxcFur6hc?feature=share
Secondary quality
A feature or “power” of an object to produce sensations—for instance, sweet, cold, and so on;most commonly associated with John Locke (1632-1704). https://youtube.com/shorts/Mn1uGDXG1Lg?feature=share
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