THE ARGUMENTATIVE PAPER
Essays of assertion, affirmation, and refutation are all examples of the argumentative paper. An effective argument relies on factually true premises or premises for which you have strong support.
OTHER CATEGORIZATIONS OF PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING
There are other ways of classifying the forms of philosophic writing you may be asked to produce. The most prominent…
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PHILOSOPHICAL FILMS AND TV SHOWS
PHILOSOPHICAL FILMS AND TV SHOWS
Note: Some of these titles may be difficult to find, either in DVD format or streaming. Film Animation Animal Farm (1954)Based on George Orwell’s novel of the same name, farm…
HERMENEUTICS
HERMENEUTICS
Originally applied to scriptural exegesis (interpretation), hermeneutics is more generally the theory and method of all “textual” interpretation. In the modern context, this refers to both verbal and non-verbal “texts”…
THE POSITION PAPER
THE POSITION PAPER
A position paper may be viewed as a type of argumentative paper in that it states a claim—your position—concerning a topic, issue, or question and presents a justification for that…
THE ESSAY OF REFUTATION
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…
METAPHYSICS
METAPHYSICS
Metaphysics is the philosophical investigation of reality, including the nature of the world and the entities it contains. While such an investigation inevitably overlaps with natural philosophy—the sciences, especially physics…
MODAL LOGIC
MODAL LOGIC
A common extension to the standard formal languages outlined above is to introduce the technical machinery required to evaluate natural language arguments containing modal terminology (that is, talk of possibility…
ESSENTIAL READING IN THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY
ESSENTIAL READING IN THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY
A comprehensive list of essential readings in the history of philosophy.
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…
WHAT PHILOSOPHY PROFESSORS WANT FROM STUDENT WRITERS
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…
ATOMISM
ATOMISM
Atomism was founded by Leucippus (who flourished around 440 BC) but was primarily elaborated by Democritus (c. 460-370 BC) as a way of reconciling the Eleatic doctrine of the impossibility…
UTILITARIANISM
UTILITARIANISM
The French Revolution sparked legal and political reforms across Europe, which brought with them their accompanying philosophical frameworks.
ANALYTIC PHILOSOPHY IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
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…
EPICUREANISM
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…
TRANSCENDENTAL IDEALISM
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.
RATIONALISM
Rationalism designates a variety of philosophical schools maintaining that reason, as opposed to empirical investigation, is the most important method…
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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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An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding (Oxford World’s Classics)
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Theory of the Solitary Sailor (Urbanomic / Mono)
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Suffering-Focused Ethics: Defense and Implications
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Standing at the Edge: Finding Freedom Where Fear and Courage Meet
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A Year of Zen: A 52-Week Guided Journal (A Year of Reflections Journal)
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Self-Reliance and Other Essays
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The Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali: A New Translation with Commentary (Shambhala Classics)
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Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching: A Book about the Way and the Power of the Way
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Aristotle East and West: Metaphysics and the Division of Christendom
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On Liberty
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The Opening of Hegel’s Logic: From Being to Infinity (History of Philosophy Series)
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Filosofía ante el desánimo: Pensamiento crítico para construir una personalidad sólida (Imago Mundi)
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The Consolation of Philosophy
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Metaphysics (The New Hackett Aristotle)
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Meditations: A New Translation
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The Little Book of Stoicism: Timeless Wisdom to Gain Resilience, Confidence, and Calmness
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Reexamining Spacetime Substantivalism: A Critique of Modal Arbitrariness and Determinism in Teitel’s Framework
Reexamining Spacetime Substantivalism: A Critique of Modal Arbitrariness and Determinism in Teitel’s Framework
Reexamining Spacetime Substantivalism: A Critique of Modal Arbitrariness and Determinism in Teitel’s Framework
Reexamining Spacetime Substantivalism: A Critique of Modal Arbitrariness and Determinism in Teitel’s Framework
Rule-Following and Artificial Intelligence: A Kripkean Perspective
Rule-Following and Artificial Intelligence: A Kripkean Perspective
The Eternal Coexistence of Consciousness and Spacetime: A Philosophical Inquiry
The Eternal Coexistence of Consciousness and Spacetime: A Philosophical Inquiry
Embracing Contradiction: An In-Depth Analysis of Dialetheism
Embracing Contradiction: An In-Depth Analysis of Dialetheism
Analysis of, and Responses to Edmund Gettier’s “Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?”
Analysis of, and Responses to Edmund Gettier’s “Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?”
The Unstable Foundation: A Critique of the Ontological Proof of God’s Existence
The Unstable Foundation: A Critique of the Ontological Proof of God’s Existence
Meta-Modal Actuality: A Dynamic Framework for Possibility, Actualization, and Causality
Meta-Modal Actuality: A Dynamic Framework for Possibility, Actualization, and Causality
Killing, Morality, and the Human Condition: A Philosophical Investigation
Killing, Morality, and the Human Condition: A Philosophical Investigation
The Intricacy of Existence: A Philosophical Exploration of Complexity, Contingency, and Divine Agency
The Intricacy of Existence: A Philosophical Exploration of Complexity, Contingency, and Divine Agency
The Ethics of Procreation and the Rational Acceptance of Life: A Critical Engagement with Weinberg’s Argument
The Ethics of Procreation and the Rational Acceptance of Life: A Critical Engagement with Weinberg’s Argument
Imagination, Consciousness, and the Nature of the Soul: A Philosophical Inquiry
Imagination, Consciousness, and the Nature of the Soul: A Philosophical Inquiry
The Interplay of Karma, Rebirth, and Non-Self in Buddhist Philosophy: A Metaphysical Inquiry
The Interplay of Karma, Rebirth, and Non-Self in Buddhist Philosophy: A Metaphysical Inquiry
Metaphysical Perspectives: A Comparative Analysis of Theism and Atheism
Metaphysical Perspectives: A Comparative Analysis of Theism and Atheism
The Infinite Universe, Death, and the Search for Meaning: A Philosophical Exploration of Existence, the Divine, and Human Mortality
The Infinite Universe, Death, and the Search for Meaning: A Philosophical Exploration of Existence, the Divine, and Human Mortality
The Unconscious Artistry of Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Reflection on Spinoza’s God and the Blind Watchmaker
The Unconscious Artistry of Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Reflection on Spinoza’s God and the Blind Watchmaker
The Ethics of Procreation and the Rational Acceptance of Life: A Critical Engagement with Weinberg’s Argument
The Ethics of Procreation and the Rational Acceptance of Life: A Critical Engagement with Weinberg’s Argument
Terms & Concepts
Private language argument
An argument, identified by Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951), that no fixed meaning can be given to a language in the absence of a wider social context because there are no constraints…
Modus ponens“
Mode of affirmation,” the Latin name for the formal logic rule that allows the inference of the consequent of a conditional claim from the affirmation of the antecedent. Argument of…
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