EPICUREANISM
Founded by Epicurus (341–271 BC), this eponymous philosophy is best known through the Roman poet Lucretius (mid first century BC). Like the Atomists, the Epicureans maintained that everything is made…
HERMENEUTICS
Originally applied to scriptural exegesis (interpretation), hermeneutics is more generally the theory and method of all “textual” interpretation. In the…
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PLATO
PLATO
Plato (427–347 BC) was born into a powerful family in Athens but abandoned politics after the execution of his teacher, Socrates; he subsequently traveled, became influenced by the Pythagoreans, and…
PREDICATE CALCULUS (PREDICATE LOGIC)
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…
GRADING CRITERIA FOR PHILOSOPHY ESSAYS
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…
BIOETHICS
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…
LOGICAL POSITIVISM
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…
BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy embraces the most ambitious field of inquiry—the universe, including the self and everything both physical and metaphysical. It is impossible to list all the branches of philosophy, which are…
NATURAL PHILOSOPHY
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.
THE PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING PROCESS
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…
SAINT AUGUSTINE
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.
EPISTEMOLOGY
EPISTEMOLOGY
Epistemology is the study of knowledge, including its nature and its extent, and of justification (that is, whether a belief is formed in a valid way to justify its being…
MIDDLE EASTERN TRADITIONS
MIDDLE EASTERN TRADITIONS
As the Middle East is often called the cradle of civilization, it is also the source of some of the earliest philosophical literature. Much of it is devoted to what…
STRATEGIC WRITING CHOICES FOR PHILOSOPHY CLASS
STRATEGIC WRITING CHOICES FOR PHILOSOPHY CLASS
Writing philosophy should not be easy, but you cannot allow it to become impossible. Here are five strategic rules of thumb for embarking on a successful writing project for philosophy…
FORMS OF PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING
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,…
WHAT IS GOOD PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING?
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…
PHENOMENOLOGY
As originally developed by Edmund Husserl (1859–1938), phenomenology seeks to provide a detailed description of the way in which things…
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Discipline Is Destiny: The Power of Self-Control (The Stoic Virtues Series)
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Stillness Is the Key
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Right Thing, Right Now: Justice in an Unjust World (The Stoic Virtues Series)
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How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius
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Letters from a Stoic: Penguin Classics
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Books
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Aristotle for Everybody: Difficult Thought Made Easy
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Awakening the Other Way: Nonduality and Existential Reason (Unlock Tao)
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Human, all too human: A book for free spirits
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Autobiography of a Yogi (Self-Realization Fellowship)
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Courage To Be Happy
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To Have or To Be? (Bloomsbury Revelations)
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Life As Told by a Sapiens to a Neanderthal
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Discourses and Selected Writings (Penguin Classics)
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I’ve Been Thinking
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Joseph Butler: The Analogy of Religion
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Hellenistic Astrology: The Study of Fate and Fortune
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Covenant and the Jewish Conversion Question: Extending the Thought of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (Jewish Thought and Philosophy)
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Foundations of Relational Realism: A Topological Approach to Quantum Mechanics and the Philosophy of Nature (Contemporary Whitehead Studies)
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History of Christian Philosophy in the Middle Ages
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The Complete Works: Handbook, Discourses, and Fragments
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On Resurrection (Fathers of the Church Medieval Continuations)
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The Atomos Blog
How do you get from a singularity to infinity?
How do you get from a singularity to infinity?
How do you get from a singularity to infinity?
How do you get from a singularity to infinity?
When the Light of a Dead Star Touches Your Eye
When the Light of a Dead Star Touches Your Eye
The Threshold
The Threshold
Can Math Prove Its Own Sanity? — A Deep Dive into Artemov’s Landmark Paper
Can Math Prove Its Own Sanity? — A Deep Dive into Artemov’s Landmark Paper
What Does the Mind Really Mean?
What Does the Mind Really Mean?
The Symphony of Existence: Strings, Dimensions, and the Persistence of Identity
The Symphony of Existence: Strings, Dimensions, and the Persistence of Identity
Does It Feel Like Anything To Be Claude?
Does It Feel Like Anything To Be Claude?
Natural Function and Perceptual Content
Natural Function and Perceptual Content
Philosophy of Law: An Introduction
Philosophy of Law: An Introduction
Philosophy of Science: An Introduction
Philosophy of Science: An Introduction
Aesthetics: An Introduction
Aesthetics: An Introduction
Epistemology: An Introduction
Epistemology: An Introduction
Ethics: An Introduction
Ethics: An Introduction
Logic: An Introduction
Logic: An Introduction
Metaphysics: An Introduction
Metaphysics: An Introduction
Philosophy of Science: An Introduction
Philosophy of Science: An Introduction
Terms & Concepts
Original position
A hypothetical situation from which individuals are best positioned to make decisions about the principles of justice that will constitute a fair society. According to John Rawls (1921-2002), this will…
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