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Philosophy BranchesTraditional Branches of Philosophy
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…
NON-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…
History Of Philosophy
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…
PHILOSOPHICAL BOOKS AND TEXT
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…
CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of Philosophy
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…
History Of PhilosophyNON-WESTERN PHILOSOPHICAL TRADITIONS
November 15, 2023

INDIAN PHILOSOPHY

Philosophy on the Indian subcontinent between 1000 BC and the early centuries of the first millennium was comprised of six major schools of Hindu philosophy (Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa,…
CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of Philosophy
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…
CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of Philosophy
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…
Writing 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,…
History Of Philosophy
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…
ANALYTIC PHILOSOPHYHistory Of Philosophy
November 15, 2023

LOGICAL ATOMISM

Although mostly associated with the logical analysis of language, analytic philosophy began in the philosophy of mathematics. Working independently, both Gottlob Frege and Bertrand Russell pursued programs of reducing mathematics…
History Of PhilosophyPOST-KANTIAN PHILOSOPHY
November 15, 2023

PRAGMATISM

Pragmatism was a philosophical movement in the United States concerned with the relationship between abstract theory and practical activity, and with the value of philosophical reflection.
FORMS OF PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING
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…
WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?
November 12, 2023

PHILOSOPHY AS METHOD

Our digital age suggests a useful analogy to further explain the role of philosophy in intellectual life. Philosophy is analogous to an operating system (OS), a software platform that enables…
PHILOSOPHICAL BOOKS AND TEXT
November 27, 2023

GUIDES TO PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING

As with developing any skill, learning to write philosophically takes practice. Here are some links to academic sites, along with several style guides, to aid you.

Books

  • Ralph Waldo Emerson Poetry Collection

    $15.99
  • The Shadow Work Journal: A Guide to Integrate and Transcend your Shadows

    $17.99
  • Print Handwriting Workbook for Teens: Improve your printing handwriting & practice print penmanship workbook for teens and tweens

    $6.75
  • Sade My Neighbor (Studies in Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy)

    $22.95
  • The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation

    $13.08
  • Horns of the Goddess

    $30.00
  • In Praise of Shadows

    $10.08
  • The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times (Deckled Edge)

    $14.39
  • Meditations on First Philosophy (Hackett Classics)

    $10.00
  • The Landmark Herodotus: The Histories

    $56.17
  • Understanding Knowledge

    $20.00
  • Philosophy 101: From Plato and Socrates to Ethics and Metaphysics, an Essential Primer on the History of Thought (Adams 101 Series)

    $12.79
  • Sacred Scroll of Seven Seals: The Lost Knowledge of Good and Evil

    $23.00
  • Van Til and the Limits of Reason by R. J. Rushdoony (2013-08-02)

    $10.00
  • Standing at the Edge: Finding Freedom Where Fear and Courage Meet

    $16.99
  • Nicomachean Ethics

    $14.99

Terms & Concepts

N

Noncognitivism

The view that the assertions of a certain domain (usually ethics) do not express propositions but, rather, indicate the speaker’s approval or disapproval. Such assertions are neither true nor false…
V

Verisimilitude

The degree of truth likeness, or how much closer one theory is to the truth than another. Early measures of verisimilitude compared the number of true and false sentences; contemporary…
C

Criterion

A standard of judgment. https://youtube.com/shorts/XXkd0kIasTU?feature=share
U
Uncogent argument
D
Disjunctive syllogism
S
Subproof
A
Absurdity
P
Polytheism
B
Belief
N
Negative right
E
Empirical idealism
A
Ahimsa
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