History Of PhilosophyPOST-KANTIAN PHILOSOPHY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
November 15, 2023

POST-KANTIAN PHILOSOPHY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

Kant’s philosophy continued to dominate throughout the nineteenth century, although there were increasing concerns about the overall coherence of his system; in particular, there was doubt as to whether the…
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 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,…
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…
NON-WESTERN PHILOSOPHICAL TRADITIONSHistory Of PhilosophyAFRICAN PHILOSOPHY
November 15, 2023

AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY

The earliest indigenous African philosophy to produce written documents emerged during the seventeenth century, especially in Ethiopia. Zera Yacob (1599–1692), whose Hatata (1667) has been compared to René Descartes’ Discourse…
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…
CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of PhilosophyEPICUREANISM
November 15, 2023

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…
Traditional Branches of PhilosophyPhilosophy BranchesLOGIC
December 12, 2023

LOGIC

Logic is concerned with studying the inferences we make, and the formal languages developed to systematize those inferences. This includes both the proof-theories and semantics for these languages, as well…
Traditional Branches of PhilosophyPhilosophy BranchesAESTHETICS
December 12, 2023

AESTHETICS

Aesthetics is concerned with the nature of art (whether visual, literary, dramatic, or in some other medium) and the way in which art is experienced. Two principal related issues, therefore,…
Traditional Branches of PhilosophyPhilosophy BranchesEPISTEMOLOGY
December 12, 2023

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…
THE EARLY MODERN PERIODHistory Of PhilosophyRATIONALISM
November 15, 2023

RATIONALISM

Rationalism designates a variety of philosophical schools maintaining that reason, as opposed to empirical investigation, is the most important method of acquiring knowledge.
Philosophy BranchesBRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
December 12, 2023

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…
FORMS OF PHILOSOPHICAL WRITINGWriting PhilosophyTHE EXPOSITORY PAPER
November 19, 2023

THE EXPOSITORY PAPER

We have already touched on the expository paper, but let’s discuss it briefly here. Look at the adjective expository. It is derived from the noun exposition, which is the noun…
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…
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…

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Terms & Concepts

S

Social contract

A political philosophy concept or theory, originating in the Age of Enlightenment, which concerns the legitimacy of state authority over the individual. The term takes its name from The Social…
I

Incoherent

That which does not fit together; that is, that which is not coherent. https://youtube.com/shorts/iK3tAh_mXqc?feature=share
K

Karma

Literally, “action”: the Hindu view of causation. https://youtube.com/shorts/je5-Ef6D48U?feature=share
R
Reliabilism
I
Inference to the best explanation
S
Semantic holism
V
Vicious circle (circular reasoning)
C
Claim
N
Necessary and sufficient condition
H
Hermeneutics
C
Cosmology
P
Parallelism
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