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.
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.
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.
Writing PhilosophyWHAT PHILOSOPHY PROFESSORS WANT FROM STUDENT WRITERS
November 24, 2023

WHAT PHILOSOPHY PROFESSORS WANT FROM STUDENT WRITERS

Some 2,300 years ago, Aristotle introduced the syllogism into the intellectual world. A threeelement formula, it is the elementary building block of syllogistic logic and deductive reasoning. The syllogism combines…
MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of PhilosophyMEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY
November 15, 2023

MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY

The Medieval Period is usually dated between the fall of the Western Roman Empire (476)and the beginning of the Renaissance (c. 1300). In terms of philosophy, the period begins inthe…
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…
Philosophy BranchesTraditional Branches of PhilosophyNATURAL PHILOSOPHY
December 12, 2023

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY

An important historical branch designation rather than a current one, natural philosophy was the study of nature and the physical universe by philosophical (that is, largely empirical reason-based) methods.
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…
FORMS OF PHILOSOPHICAL WRITINGWriting PhilosophyTHE ESSAY OF REFUTATION
November 20, 2023

THE ESSAY OF REFUTATION

The essay of refutation takes the position “I disagree.” Its objective is to persuade the reader that the argument of another is false, flawed, unlikely, implausible, or in some other…
Writing PhilosophyHOW DO YOU DO PHILOSOPHY?
November 24, 2023

HOW DO YOU DO PHILOSOPHY?

How do you do philosophy? Unlike many of the questions asked in the name of philosophy, this one has a straightforward answer. You do philosophy primarily through writing. Now, if…
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…
LogicMANY-VALUE LOGICS
November 15, 2023

MANY-VALUE LOGICS

In the classical logics already discussed, the logical connectives are taken to be bivalent—that is, they allow of only two different truth values: true and false. One natural extension to…
History Of PhilosophyCLASSICAL PHILOSOPHY
November 15, 2023

CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHY

The Classical Period in philosophy was dominated by the teachings of Plato (427–347 BC) and Aristotle (384–322 BC) but gradually fell into a decline following the conquest of the independent…
CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of PhilosophyEXISTENTIALISM
November 15, 2023

EXISTENTIALISM

A broad philosophical and literary movement that flourished during the first half of the twentieth century, Existentialism emphasized the uniqueness of human experience over the generalizations of traditional scientific or…
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…

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Terms & Concepts

F

Free variable (unbound variable)

A free variable is an instance of a variable that is not bound by some condition—for instance,x is a free variable, whereas in “for some x,” it is a bound…
F

First-order validity

An argument is valid when a sentence is logically true by way of truth-functional connectivedefinitions, identity, and quantifiers. https://youtube.com/shorts/CZnU2xWzcRg?feature=share
C

Categories

1) Aristotle’s four-fold classification system of language and ontology. 2) Kant’s term, which he took from Aristotle, for the basic and a priori concepts that structure human knowledge. https://youtube.com/shorts/AM-dTf2DPv4?feature=share
C
Causal theory of perception
S
Subjective truth (subjectivity)
I
Idea
D
Deconstruction
P
Phronesis
L
Logical contradiction
C
Criterion
F
Free will
J
Justice
View All