PHILOSOPHICAL BOOKS AND TEXTESSENTIAL READING IN THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY
November 27, 2023

ESSENTIAL READING IN THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY

A comprehensive list of essential readings in the history of philosophy.
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.
Philosophy BranchesTraditional Branches of PhilosophyMETAPHYSICS
December 12, 2023

METAPHYSICS

Metaphysics is the philosophical investigation of reality, including the nature of the world and the entities it contains. While such an investigation inevitably overlaps with natural philosophy—the sciences, especially physics…
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 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…
NON-WESTERN PHILOSOPHICAL TRADITIONSHistory Of PhilosophyINDIAN PHILOSOPHY
November 15, 2023

INDIAN PHILOSOPHY

Philosophy on the Indian subcontinent between 1000 BC and the early centuries of the first millennium was comprised of six major schools of Hindu philosophy (Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa,…
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…
PHILOSOPHICAL BOOKS AND TEXTCRITICAL THINKING AND LOGIC TEXTBOOKS
November 27, 2023

CRITICAL THINKING AND LOGIC TEXTBOOKS

Textbooks on critical thinking and logic.
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 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…
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…
NON-WESTERN PHILOSOPHICAL TRADITIONSHistory Of PhilosophyPHILOSOPHIES OF EAST ASIA
November 15, 2023

PHILOSOPHIES OF EAST ASIA

The dominant philosophical traditions in this part of the world began in Ancient China from the sixth century to 221 BC, which saw the development of China’s great philosophical movements…
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…
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…
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…

Books

  • Against Method

    $24.95
  • The User Illusion: Cutting Consciousness Down to Size

    $15.99
  • On Dialogue (Routledge Classics)

    $23.16
  • Big Panda and Tiny Dragon Book Collection: Heartwarming Stories of Courage and Friendship for All Ages

    $40.00
  • 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

    $29.69
  • 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

    $10.56
  • 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

    $17.24
  • The Communist Manifesto (A Penguin Classics Hardcover)

    $22.00
  • The Art of Living: Peace and Freedom in the Here and Now

    $11.37
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

A

Analects

Literally, “selected sayings” attributed to Confucius, this text constitutes the founding philosophical document of Confucianism. https://youtube.com/shorts/jXYFZwQ5ePE?feature=share
S

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
T

Truth table

A method of demonstrating how a statement’s truth value is built up from an atomic or simple sentence and the operation of the (main) connective. https://youtube.com/shorts/Qq98IsjJpG4?feature=share
A
Absurdity
T
Truth of reason
C
Categorical Imperative
P
Pluralism
A
Animism
T
Transcendental ego
S
Substance
F
False cause
A
Ad-hoc hypothesis
View All