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,…
Modern Branches of PhilosophyPhilosophy BranchesPHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
November 14, 2023

PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE

Many of the topics within the philosophy of science overlap with topics in metaphysics, epistemology, and the philosophy of language insofar as they apply within our scientific practice. Metaphysical issues,…
History Of PhilosophyCLASSICAL PHILOSOPHYARISTOTLE
November 15, 2023

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 EARLY MODERN PERIODHistory Of PhilosophyTHE EARLY MODERN PERIOD
November 15, 2023

THE EARLY MODERN PERIOD

Philosophical thought during the Enlightenment was characterized by a rejection of existing sources of authority. The broadly Aristotelean scientific worldview was undermined by a period of scientific revolution—conventionally beginning with…
LogicRELEVANCE LOGICS
November 15, 2023

RELEVANCE LOGICS

A relevance logic is motivated by the idea that the premises of a valid argument must be somehow “relevant” to its conclusion. The idea is motivated by the fact that…
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…
Modern Branches of PhilosophyPhilosophy BranchesBIOETHICS
November 14, 2023

BIOETHICS

A branch of ethics concerned with the moral and political issues raised by medical science, and with advances in medical technology, bioethics has now become a largely autonomous area of…
Writing PhilosophyWHAT IS GOOD WRITING?
November 24, 2023

WHAT IS GOOD WRITING?

What is good music? What is good art? What is good writing? Such questions unleash many opinions. The branch of traditional philosophy called Aesthetics is devoted to answering such questions…
THE EARLY MODERN PERIODHistory Of PhilosophyTRANSCENDENTAL IDEALISM
November 15, 2023

TRANSCENDENTAL IDEALISM

The philosophical system developed by Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), Transcendental Idealism sought to overcome the epistemological problems of Empiricism while providing a rational justification for Liberalism.
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…
Writing PhilosophyGRADING CRITERIA FOR PHILOSOPHY ESSAYS
November 24, 2023

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…
CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of PhilosophySTOICISM
November 15, 2023

STOICISM

Founded by Zeno of Citium (334–262 BC), early Stoicism shared many similarities with Epicureanism, including the belief that the world was largely deterministic and that the overall goal of the…
NON-WESTERN PHILOSOPHICAL TRADITIONSHistory Of PhilosophyMIDDLE EASTERN TRADITIONS
November 15, 2023

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…
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…
PHILOSOPHICAL BOOKS AND TEXTBOOKS TO GUIDE NOVICE PHILOSOPHY STUDENTS
November 27, 2023

BOOKS TO GUIDE NOVICE PHILOSOPHY STUDENTS

This list is aimed at curating those texts that will both challenge a novice researcher, and continually reward repeated encounters as you develop your philosophical interests.

Books

  • Book Of Answers, The

    $16.96
  • Discourses and Selected Writings (Penguin Classics)

    $15.99
  • Profiles in Courage (Harper Perennial Modern Classics)

    $11.99
  • Buddhism Plain and Simple: The Practice of Being Aware Right Now, Every Day

    $9.59
  • Leviathan (Penguin Classics)

    $11.79
  • UNDERSTANDING PHILOSOPHY: The Smart Student’s Guide to Reading and Writing Philosophy (Philosophy Study Guides)

    $9.95
  • The Tao of Health, Sex, and Longevity: A Modern Practical Guide to the Ancient Way

    $19.99
  • Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters

    $9.99
  • Free Will [Deckle Edge]

    $7.99
  • Bremen and Freiburg Lectures: Insight Into That Which Is and Basic Principles of Thinking (Studies in Continental Thought)

    $39.14
  • Discourses On The First

    $39.95
  • Diogenes the Cynic: Sayings and Anecdotes, With Other Popular Moralists

    $15.95
  • An Introduction to General Systems Thinking

    $9.98
  • Achieving Our Country : Leftist Thought in Twentieth-Century America

    $22.00
  • The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity

    $22.92
  • Who Will Cry When You Die?

    $15.78

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

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

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Terms & Concepts

O

Ought

A moral term, often contrasted with “should.” As such, it is obligatory, rather than suggestive. https://youtube.com/shorts/68M1POCs5PA?feature=share
H

Hedonistic

Pleasure-seeking, or related to pleasure, typically associated with Epicurus, Jeremy Bentham(1748-1832), and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873). https://youtube.com/shorts/kVFXj018QWE?feature=share
M

Modal logic

A body of formal systems used to represent statements about necessity and possibility. https://youtube.com/shorts/YODGGnvnXn0?feature=share
F
Free variable (unbound variable)
A
Assumptive proof
S
Singular statement
F
Forms
W
Weak argument
I
Incommensurability
E
Ex contradictione quodlibet
W
Well-Formed Formula (wff)
D
Domain of discourse
View All