FORMS OF PHILOSOPHICAL WRITINGTHE ESSAY OF AFFIRMATION
November 20, 2023

THE ESSAY OF AFFIRMATION

The essay of affirmation takes the position I agree. If you want to write an essay agreeing with—affirming—the ideas of another, such as a philosopher, a simple statement of agreement…
WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?WHAT IS THE “SUBJECT MATTER” OF PHILOSOPHY
November 12, 2023

WHAT IS THE “SUBJECT MATTER” OF PHILOSOPHY

“There is a common misunderstanding that philosophy—like chemistry or history—has a content to offer, a content that a teacher is to teach and a student is to learn,” writes Professor…
Modern Branches of PhilosophyPhilosophy BranchesPHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE
November 14, 2023

PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE

The study of natural languages is conventionally divided among questions of syntax, semantics, and pragmatics, all of which raise significant issues for the philosophy of language. In terms of syntax…
Writing PhilosophyESSENTIAL WRITING SKILLS
November 21, 2023

ESSENTIAL WRITING SKILLS

Having just walked through the basic process of writing a philosophy paper, we turn now to the essential skillset you should develop and apply not only to the writing of…
LogicMANY-VALUE LOGICS
November 15, 2023

MANY-VALUE LOGICS

In the classical logics already discussed, the logical connectives are taken to be bivalent—that is, they allow of only two different truth values: true and false. One natural extension to…
FORMS OF PHILOSOPHICAL WRITINGTHE ESSAY OF ASSERTION
November 20, 2023

THE ESSAY OF ASSERTION

The essay of assertion takes the position I believe. It is an argumentative essay in which you convey to the reader some belief or beliefs that you hold. If you…
FORMS OF PHILOSOPHICAL WRITINGTHE PERSONAL ESSAY
November 20, 2023

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…
History Of PhilosophyATOMISM
November 15, 2023

ATOMISM

Atomism was founded by Leucippus (who flourished around 440 BC) but was primarily elaborated by Democritus (c. 460-370 BC) as a way of reconciling the Eleatic doctrine of the impossibility…
History Of PhilosophyCLASSICAL PHILOSOPHYPLATO
November 15, 2023

PLATO

Plato (427–347 BC) was born into a powerful family in Athens but abandoned politics after the execution of his teacher, Socrates; he subsequently traveled, became influenced by the Pythagoreans, and…
MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of PhilosophyTHOMISM
November 15, 2023

THOMISM

A school of thought based on the work of Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), Thomism is, like Scholasticism, principally concerned with metaphysics and understanding the attributes of God.
Modern Branches of PhilosophyPhilosophy BranchesHERMENEUTICS
November 14, 2023

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”…
PHILOSOPHICAL BOOKS AND TEXTINTRODUCTORY LOGIC TEXTS
November 27, 2023

INTRODUCTORY LOGIC TEXTS

There are some fairly firm distinctions between critical thinking and formal (symbolic) logic texts. Whereas critical thinking focuses broadly on argumentation, formal logic is the study of the principles of…
History Of PhilosophyANALYTIC PHILOSOPHYLOGICAL POSITIVISM
November 15, 2023

LOGICAL POSITIVISM

Originally founded by Auguste Comte (1798–1857), Positivism was primarily a view about science. Influenced by Immanuel Kant’s (1724-1804) assertion that knowledge of things-inthemselves was impossible, Comte argued that our scientific…
LogicINTUITIONISM
November 15, 2023

INTUITIONISM

One of the most familiar non-classical logics is intuitionism, which, in simple terms, is based upon the rejection of the law of excluded middle: (P ∨ ¬P). There are both…
ANALYTIC PHILOSOPHYHistory Of PhilosophyLOGICAL ATOMISM
November 15, 2023

LOGICAL ATOMISM

Although mostly associated with the logical analysis of language, analytic philosophy began in the philosophy of mathematics. Working independently, both Gottlob Frege and Bertrand Russell pursued programs of reducing mathematics…

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The Atomos Blog

Philosophy of Law: An IntroductionAtomosPHILOSOPHY OF LAW

Philosophy of Law: An Introduction

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Philosophy of Science: An IntroductionAtomosPHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE

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Aesthetics: An IntroductionAESTHETICSAtomos

Aesthetics: An Introduction

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Epistemology: An IntroductionAtomosEPISTEMOLOGY

Epistemology: An Introduction

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Ethics: An IntroductionAtomosETHICS

Ethics: An Introduction

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Logic: An IntroductionAtomosLOGIC

Logic: An Introduction

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Metaphysics: An Introduction

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Philosophy of History: An IntroductionAtomosPHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY

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Philosophy of Language: An IntroductionAtomosPHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE

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Philosophy of Mind: An IntroductionAtomosPHILOSOPHY OF MIND

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Environmental Philosophy: An Introduction

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Terms & Concepts

A

Atomic sentence

In formal logic, the most basic sentence corresponding to the simplest sentence in ordinary language. An atomic sentence consists of a predicate and the relevant arity. https://youtube.com/shorts/B5RhkwKKk8M?feature=share
S

Semiotics

The theory of signs and signification, including symbols (conventional signs such as language), indexes (natural signs with a causal correspondence to their referent), and icons(signs whose form resembles their referent).…
S

Socialism

The political view that members of society should own or control their means of production—that is, property, factories, businesses, and so on. https://youtube.com/shorts/ByWjJHmDbvA?feature=share
A
Agnosticism
C
Compatibilism
S
Sorites Paradox
R
Reflexive property
D
Duhem-Quine Thesis
A
Analytic-synthetic distinction
N
Nihilism
F
Free-Rider Problem
C
Communism
View All