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,…
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…
WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?PHILOSOPHICAL FILMS AND TV SHOWS
November 24, 2023

PHILOSOPHICAL FILMS AND TV SHOWS

Note: Some of these titles may be difficult to find, either in DVD format or streaming. Film Animation Animal Farm (1954)Based on George Orwell’s novel of the same name, farm…
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.
MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of PhilosophySCHOLASTICISM
November 15, 2023

SCHOLASTICISM

A general term for those philosophers influenced by the medieval rediscovery of classic texts, Scholasticism is broadly characterized by an interest in logic and disputation and is motivated to resolve…
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…
LogicQUANTUM LOGIC
November 15, 2023

QUANTUM LOGIC

Most non-classical logics are motivated by either philosophical considerations, such as the metaphysical status of the future, or technical concerns about the neutrality of the logical connectives or the notion…
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…
MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of PhilosophySAINT AUGUSTINE
November 15, 2023

SAINT AUGUSTINE

Like his contemporaries, Saint Augustine (354–430) was primarily influenced by Neoplatonism, and, indeed, credited Plotinus with helping him to understand Christian theology.
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…
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…
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…
NON-WESTERN PHILOSOPHICAL TRADITIONSNON-WESTERN PHILOSOPHICAL TRADITIONS
November 15, 2023

NON-WESTERN PHILOSOPHICAL TRADITIONS

As explained at the beginning of this chapter, this book is intended primarily for philosophy students, especially new philosophy students, whose focus is mainly or even exclusively on Western philosophical…
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 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…

Books

  • The Chomsky-Foucault Debate: On Human Nature

    $12.76
  • Utilitarianism (Annotated)

    $6.99
  • Jacques Derrida and the Humanities: A Critical Reader

    $36.99
  • Lives of the Stoics: The Art of Living from Zeno to Marcus Aurelius

    $15.99
  • Pragmatism and Other Writings (Penguin Classics)

    $14.76
  • The Complete Works: Handbook, Discourses, and Fragments

    $55.00
  • Mulla Sadra and Eschatology: Evolution of Being (Routledge Sufi Series)

    $52.95
  • Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder (Incerto)

    $32.00
  • Invitation to Sociology: A Humanistic Perspective

    $15.30
  • Why Good People Do Bad Things: Understanding Our Darker Selves

    $17.00
  • Covenant and the Jewish Conversion Question: Extending the Thought of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (Jewish Thought and Philosophy)

    $119.99
  • Letters from a Stoic: Penguin Classics

    $14.52
  • Against Method

    $24.95
  • Psyche: Inventions of the Other, Volume I (Meridian: Crossing Aesthetics) (Volume 1)

    $22.52
  • Socrates: A Man for Our Times

    $25.95
  • Secrets of the Mind: Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Keys to Expansive Mental Powers

    $16.99

The Atomos Blog

Philosophy of Law: An IntroductionAtomosPHILOSOPHY OF LAW

Philosophy of Law: An Introduction

Atomos EditorAtomos EditorJanuary 10, 2026
Philosophy of Science: An IntroductionAtomosPHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE

Philosophy of Science: An Introduction

Atomos EditorAtomos EditorJanuary 10, 2026
Aesthetics: An IntroductionAESTHETICSAtomos

Aesthetics: An Introduction

Atomos EditorAtomos EditorJanuary 10, 2026
Epistemology: An IntroductionAtomosEPISTEMOLOGY

Epistemology: An Introduction

Atomos EditorAtomos EditorJanuary 10, 2026
Ethics: An IntroductionAtomosETHICS

Ethics: An Introduction

Atomos EditorAtomos EditorJanuary 10, 2026
Logic: An IntroductionAtomosLOGIC

Logic: An Introduction

Atomos EditorAtomos EditorJanuary 10, 2026
Metaphysics: An IntroductionAtomosMETAPHYSICS

Metaphysics: An Introduction

Atomos EditorAtomos EditorJanuary 10, 2026
Philosophy of History: An IntroductionAtomosPHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY

Philosophy of History: An Introduction

Atomos EditorAtomos EditorJanuary 10, 2026
Philosophy of Language: An IntroductionAtomosPHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE

Philosophy of Language: An Introduction

Atomos EditorAtomos EditorJanuary 10, 2026
Philosophy of Mind: An IntroductionAtomosPHILOSOPHY OF MIND

Philosophy of Mind: An Introduction

Atomos EditorAtomos EditorJanuary 10, 2026
Philosophy of Technology: An IntroductionAtomosPHILOSOPHY OF TECHNOLOGY

Philosophy of Technology: An Introduction

Atomos EditorAtomos EditorJanuary 10, 2026
Environmental Philosophy: An IntroductionAtomosENVIRONMENTAL PHILOSOPHY

Environmental Philosophy: An Introduction

Atomos EditorAtomos EditorJanuary 10, 2026

Terms & Concepts

D

Deontological

A duty-based ethical theory; an action is moral if it is done from duty, irrespective of the consequences. (Typically opposed to consequentialist ethical theories.) https://youtube.com/shorts/Dxo42Fab2rs?feature=share
S

Subcontraries

A pair of propositions that cannot both be simultaneously false but can be simultaneously true. In categorical logic, I- and O-propositions are sub contraries. If one is false, the other…
P

Participation

One of Plato’s terms for how particulars relate to Forms. https://youtube.com/shorts/v6HHMioN9_E?feature=share
A
Argument from design
A
Anatta
M
Myth of the given
M
Matter of fact
M
Moral theory
A
Areté
O
Obversion
F
Free-Rider Problem
N
Naturalistic fallacy
View All