LogicMODAL LOGIC
November 15, 2023

MODAL LOGIC

A common extension to the standard formal languages outlined above is to introduce the technical machinery required to evaluate natural language arguments containing modal terminology (that is, talk of possibility…
PHILOSOPHICAL BOOKS AND TEXTINTRODUCTORY PHILOSOPHY TEXTS
November 27, 2023

INTRODUCTORY PHILOSOPHY TEXTS

There is no substitute for grappling primary sources. Nevertheless, secondary sources—including scholarly research, literary reviews, historical summaries—are valuable tools. They not only show you how you can begin thinking about…
Modern Branches of PhilosophyPhilosophy BranchesPHILOSOPHY OF MATHEMATICS
November 14, 2023

PHILOSOPHY OF MATHEMATICS

The philosophy of mathematics is traditionally concerned with the ontological and epistemological foundations of mathematics. The two questions, of ontology and epistemology, are intimately related, as a satisfactory account of…
History Of PhilosophyPYTHAGOREANISM
November 15, 2023

PYTHAGOREANISM

Based on the teachings of Pythagoras (c. 570–495 BC) and the school he established inCroton in southern Italy, we may conclude that, in many ways, Pythagoreanism was more ofa mystery…
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…
ANALYTIC PHILOSOPHYHistory Of PhilosophyANALYTIC PHILOSOPHY IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
November 15, 2023

ANALYTIC PHILOSOPHY IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

The analytic tradition arose partly as a rejection of Hegelian idealism in favor of what George Edward Moore (1873–1958) called a “common sense” view of the world, alongside developments in…
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…
CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of PhilosophyPHENOMENOLOGY
November 15, 2023

PHENOMENOLOGY

As originally developed by Edmund Husserl (1859–1938), phenomenology seeks to provide a detailed description of the way in which things are presented to us—that is to say, phenomena —in an…
LogicHIGHER-ORDER LOGICS
November 15, 2023

HIGHER-ORDER LOGICS

The language sketched above is better referred to as first-order predicate calculus, as the language only quantifies over (first-order) individuals. A stronger language, second-order predicate calculus, can therefore be constructed…
CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of PhilosophySTRUCTURALISM
November 15, 2023

STRUCTURALISM

Structuralism refers to research undertaken in the social sciences, predominantly in France, between the 1950s and 1970s, which sought to understand various social phenomena as a “closed system” of elements.
PHILOSOPHICAL BOOKS AND TEXTGUIDES TO PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING
November 27, 2023

GUIDES TO PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING

As with developing any skill, learning to write philosophically takes practice. Here are some links to academic sites, along with several style guides, to aid you.
PHILOSOPHICAL BOOKS AND TEXTCRITICAL THINKING AND LOGIC TEXTBOOKS
November 27, 2023

CRITICAL THINKING AND LOGIC TEXTBOOKS

Textbooks on critical thinking and logic.
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…
FORMS OF PHILOSOPHICAL WRITINGWriting PhilosophyFORMS OF PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING
November 20, 2023

FORMS OF PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING

The word essay comes from the French infinitive verb essayer, meaning “to try” or “to attempt.” In fact, when the word was first borrowed into the English language, as essay,…
Writing PhilosophyWRITING IS CENTRAL TO PHILOSOPHY
November 24, 2023

WRITING IS CENTRAL TO PHILOSOPHY

For the great majority of us, writing is instrumental to thinking. Since it is reasonable to describe philosophy as the application of disciplined thought to a variety of topics, issues,…

Books

  • Against Method

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  • The User Illusion: Cutting Consciousness Down to Size

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  • On Dialogue (Routledge Classics)

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  • Big Panda and Tiny Dragon Book Collection: Heartwarming Stories of Courage and Friendship for All Ages

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  • Kant’s Rational Religion and the Radical Enlightenment: From Spinoza to Contemporary Debates (Bloomsbury Studies in Modern German Philosophy)

    $39.95
  • Selective Breeding and the Birth of Philosophy

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  • A Visual Theology Guide to the Bible: Seeing and Knowing God’s Word

    $27.89
  • The Pocket Stoic

    $12.00
  • Inspired Wisdom Word Search: Yoga for the Brain

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  • Recent Philosophy: Volume Two—From Bentham to Dewey

    $29.95
  • Meditations (A Penguin Classics Hardcover)

    $13.79
  • Al-Ghazālī and the Idea of Moral Beauty (Islam in the World)

    $24.95
  • Discipline Is Destiny: The Power of Self-Control (The Stoic Virtues Series)

    $15.99
  • The Marxification of Education: Paulo Freire’s Critical Marxism and the Theft of Education

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  • The Communist Manifesto (A Penguin Classics Hardcover)

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  • The Art of Living: Peace and Freedom in the Here and Now

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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

Philosophy StudentPhilosophy Student
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

Philosophy StudentPhilosophy StudentDecember 8, 2025
Rule-Following and Artificial Intelligence: A Kripkean Perspective

Rule-Following and Artificial Intelligence: A Kripkean Perspective

Philosophy StudentPhilosophy StudentDecember 8, 2025
The Eternal Coexistence of Consciousness and Spacetime: A Philosophical Inquiry

The Eternal Coexistence of Consciousness and Spacetime: A Philosophical Inquiry

Philosophy StudentPhilosophy StudentDecember 8, 2025
Embracing Contradiction: An In-Depth Analysis of Dialetheism

Embracing Contradiction: An In-Depth Analysis of Dialetheism

Philosophy StudentPhilosophy StudentDecember 8, 2025
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?”

Philosophy StudentPhilosophy StudentDecember 8, 2025
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

Philosophy StudentPhilosophy StudentDecember 8, 2025
Meta-Modal Actuality: A Dynamic Framework for Possibility, Actualization, and Causality

Meta-Modal Actuality: A Dynamic Framework for Possibility, Actualization, and Causality

Philosophy StudentPhilosophy StudentDecember 8, 2025
Killing, Morality, and the Human Condition: A Philosophical Investigation

Killing, Morality, and the Human Condition: A Philosophical Investigation

Philosophy StudentPhilosophy StudentDecember 8, 2025
The Intricacy of Existence: A Philosophical Exploration of Complexity, Contingency, and Divine Agency

The Intricacy of Existence: A Philosophical Exploration of Complexity, Contingency, and Divine Agency

Philosophy StudentPhilosophy StudentDecember 8, 2025
The Ethics of Procreation and the Rational Acceptance of Life: A Critical Engagement with Weinberg’s Argument

The Ethics of Procreation and the Rational Acceptance of Life: A Critical Engagement with Weinberg’s Argument

Philosophy StudentPhilosophy StudentDecember 8, 2025
Imagination, Consciousness, and the Nature of the Soul: A Philosophical Inquiry

Imagination, Consciousness, and the Nature of the Soul: A Philosophical Inquiry

Philosophy StudentPhilosophy StudentDecember 6, 2025
The Interplay of Karma, Rebirth, and Non-Self in Buddhist Philosophy: A Metaphysical Inquiry

The Interplay of Karma, Rebirth, and Non-Self in Buddhist Philosophy: A Metaphysical Inquiry

Philosophy StudentPhilosophy StudentDecember 6, 2025
Metaphysical Perspectives: A Comparative Analysis of Theism and Atheism

Metaphysical Perspectives: A Comparative Analysis of Theism and Atheism

Philosophy StudentPhilosophy StudentDecember 6, 2025
The Infinite Universe, Death, and the Search for Meaning: A Philosophical Exploration of Existence, the Divine, and Human Mortality

The Infinite Universe, Death, and the Search for Meaning: A Philosophical Exploration of Existence, the Divine, and Human Mortality

Philosophy StudentPhilosophy StudentDecember 6, 2025
The Unconscious Artistry of Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Reflection on Spinoza’s God and the Blind Watchmaker

The Unconscious Artistry of Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Reflection on Spinoza’s God and the Blind Watchmaker

Philosophy StudentPhilosophy StudentDecember 6, 2025
The Ethics of Procreation and the Rational Acceptance of Life: A Critical Engagement with Weinberg’s Argument

The Ethics of Procreation and the Rational Acceptance of Life: A Critical Engagement with Weinberg’s Argument

Philosophy StudentPhilosophy Student

Terms & Concepts

H

Hypothetical imperative

That which commands hypothetically, asserted in the form of a conditional claim, as in, “If you want X, you should do Y.” (See also Categorical imperative.) https://youtube.com/shorts/54vdJzdmc1w?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).…
E

Epicureanism

Epicurus’s view that a life of moderate pleasures and the avoidance of pain (mentaldisturbance) is the goal of happy human existence. https://youtube.com/shorts/ObjH6Z7tsHQ?feature=share
N
Negation introduction
I
I-proposition
H
Happiness calculus (felicity calculus or hedonic calculus)
I
Inconsistent
T
Transcendent
B
Begging the question
L
Logical operator
C
Categorical syllogism
E
Empirical ego
View All