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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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 PHILOSOPHYORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY
November 15, 2023

ORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY

Between the 1940s and the 1960s, analytic philosophy shifted away from investigating the (supposed) underlying logical structure of language. While it was still primarily concerned with conceptual analysis, this was…
Writing PhilosophyTHE PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING PROCESS
November 22, 2023

THE PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING PROCESS

Writing is work, and for many of us, writing is hard work. Writing philosophy adds to this labor an element of intimidation. Whether you are writing an expository—explanatory and descriptive—essay…
LogicPREDICATE CALCULUS (PREDICATE LOGIC)
November 15, 2023

PREDICATE CALCULUS (PREDICATE LOGIC)

The next development of the propositional calculus is the predicate calculus. This considers the logical relationships that hold between predicate expressions, along with the quantifiers ∃x (“there is at least…
POST-KANTIAN PHILOSOPHYHistory Of PhilosophyHEGELIANISM
November 15, 2023

HEGELIANISM

One common theme in post-Kantian philosophy was an attempt to overcome the remaining divisions between noumena and phenomena, and to reconcile the distinct faculties of sensibility and understanding in to…
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 PhilosophyCYNICISM
November 15, 2023

CYNICISM

Founded by Antisthenes (c. 445–360 BC), who taught the importance of individual virtue over material luxury, Cynicism was contemptuous of political institutions and organized religion. It rejected refined philosophical speculation…

Books

  • Noli me tangere: On the Raising of the Body (Perspectives in Continental Philosophy)

    $29.05
  • The Republic (Penguin Classics)

    $9.60
  • Stoic Pragmatism (American Philosophy)

    $25.00
  • Think Like Socrates: Unlock the Power of Socratic Questioning to Improve Your Critical Thinking and Persuasion Skills.

    $12.99
  • Discipline Is Destiny: The Power of Self-Control (The Stoic Virtues Series)

    $16.28
  • Truth, Politics, Morality: Pragmatism and Deliberation

    $62.94
  • El extranjero / The Stranger (Spanish Edition)

    $16.95
  • Fifty Eastern Thinkers (Routledge Key Guides)

    $32.95
  • Only the Lover Sings: Art and Contemplation

    $11.95
  • Theory and Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science, Second Edition

    $29.70
  • Humanly Possible

    $56.59
  • Of Grammatology

    $39.00
  • What the Buddha Taught

    $104.99
  • 365 Days of Journaling for Deep Shadow Work: A Beginner’s Workbook With Questions & Prompts for Inner Child Healing

    $19.99
  • The Philosophy Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained (DK Big Ideas)

    $11.49
  • A Degree in a Book: Philosophy: Everything You Need to Know to Master the Subject – in One Book! (A Degree in a Book, 2)

    $24.99

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Epistemology: An Introduction

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Ethics: An IntroductionAtomos

Ethics: An Introduction

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Environmental Philosophy: An IntroductionAtomos

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Existentialism and Phenomenology: An IntroductionAtomos

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Feminist Philosophy: An IntroductionAtomos

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Terms & Concepts

H

Hume’s fork

How philosophers characterize David Hume’s (1711-1776) claim that a belief is justified either as a “relation between ideas” or as a “matter of fact.” https://youtube.com/shorts/z6WRsWymtpE?feature=share
C

Conjunction elimination

In symbolic logic, a valid inference in a system of truth-functional rules. Because a statement governed by a conjunction is true if, and only if, each of the conjuncts is…
D

Disjunct

One of the components in a sentence governed by the connective disjunction. https://youtube.com/shorts/d2oGD1t8XDQ?feature=share
E
Efficient cause
I
Informal proof
C
Conversion by limitation
S
Social contract
T
Tautological consequence
P
Proof by contradiction
L
Legitimate
W
Will to power
S
Slippery slope argument
View All