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…
History Of PhilosophyTHE ELEATIC SCHOOL
November 15, 2023

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…
Writing PhilosophyWHAT IS GOOD PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING?
November 24, 2023

WHAT IS GOOD PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING?

Writing effectively for a philosophy course does not merely start with the general principles of good writing just outlined, it sets out to show mastery of these principles. It embodies…
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…
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…
Writing PhilosophyWRITING PHILOSOPHY
November 24, 2023

WRITING PHILOSOPHY

How Do You Do Philosophy? Writing Is Central To Philosophy What Philosophy Professors Want From Student Writers What Is Good Writing? What Is Good Philosophical Writing? Grading Criteria for Philosophy…
THE EARLY MODERN PERIODWHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?EMPIRICISM
November 15, 2023

EMPIRICISM

Empiricism covers a range of views prioritizing experience as the primary source of knowledge. During the Early Modern Period, this view was expounded by the so-called British Empiricists—Locke, Berkeley, and…
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…
THE EARLY MODERN PERIODHistory Of PhilosophyLIBERALISM
November 15, 2023

LIBERALISM

A political philosophy whose central claim is that a government’s authority is justified only insofar as it secures the liberty of its subjects, Liberalism is generally traced to John Locke…
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.
Writing PhilosophyGOOD PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING
November 23, 2023

GOOD PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING

BASICS OF GOOD PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING: A DEEPER DIVE Having surveyed the elements of good writing from 30,000 feet, let’s swoop in on some of the most important specifics. This means…
Traditional Branches of PhilosophyPhilosophy BranchesLOGIC
December 12, 2023

LOGIC

Logic is concerned with studying the inferences we make, and the formal languages developed to systematize those inferences. This includes both the proof-theories and semantics for these languages, as well…
History Of PhilosophyTHE PRE-SOCRATICS
November 15, 2023

THE PRE-SOCRATICS

The origins of Western philosophy are usually attributed to Thales of Miletus (fl. sixth century BC), who taught that “everything was made of water” and thus that the universe, all…
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…
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…

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  • The Question of God: C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud Debate God, Love, Sex, and the Meaning of Life

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  • World Tales (Pocket Edition): Book IV

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Philosophy of Law: An IntroductionAtomos

Philosophy of Law: An Introduction

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Philosophy of Science: An Introduction

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Aesthetics: An IntroductionAtomos

Aesthetics: An Introduction

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Ethics: An Introduction

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Metaphysics: An Introduction

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Terms & Concepts

D

Divine command theory

The view that what is moral is what God commands. https://youtube.com/shorts/KdWudCN5NV8?feature=share
B

Boolean connectives (Boolean operators)

Named after mathematician and logician George Boole, these are the three fundamental truth functional building blocks of compound sentences. They are negation, conjunction, and disjunction. The ordinary language words for…
P

Predestination

The view that God preordains every event. https://youtube.com/shorts/X0aUU4ZFEE0?feature=share
I
Informal fallacy
H
Hypothetico-Deductive Method
S
Sensation
L
Literal
I
Idealism
A
Areté
S
Supervenience
P
Polytheism
A
Asceticism
View All