Modern Branches of PhilosophyPhilosophy BranchesPHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE
November 14, 2023

PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE

The study of natural languages is conventionally divided among questions of syntax, semantics, and pragmatics, all of which raise significant issues for the philosophy of language. In terms of syntax…
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…
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…
CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of PhilosophyCONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHY IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
November 15, 2023

CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHY IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

While the focus of western philosophy has primarily been on the analysis and understanding of our most basic concepts, another important theme has been the preparation and education of man…
FORMS OF PHILOSOPHICAL WRITINGWriting PhilosophyTHE POSITION PAPER
November 19, 2023

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…
LogicNON-CLASSICAL LOGIC
November 15, 2023

NON-CLASSICAL LOGIC

While both the predicate calculus and the modal propositional calculus may be seen as extensions of the basic propositional calculus, there are also a variety of formal languages intended as…
Philosophy BranchesTraditional Branches of PhilosophyETHICS
December 12, 2023

ETHICS

Ethics is the study of morality and can be divided into three main areas of inquiry. Descriptive ethics concerns the actual moral beliefs held by specific individuals or societies and…
MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of PhilosophyTHOMISM
November 15, 2023

THOMISM

A school of thought based on the work of Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), Thomism is, like Scholasticism, principally concerned with metaphysics and understanding the attributes of God.
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…
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…
CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of PhilosophySTOICISM
November 15, 2023

STOICISM

Founded by Zeno of Citium (334–262 BC), early Stoicism shared many similarities with Epicureanism, including the belief that the world was largely deterministic and that the overall goal of the…
CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of PhilosophyEXISTENTIALISM
November 15, 2023

EXISTENTIALISM

A broad philosophical and literary movement that flourished during the first half of the twentieth century, Existentialism emphasized the uniqueness of human experience over the generalizations of traditional scientific or…
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…
LogicPROPOSITIONAL CALCULUS (PROPOSITIONAL LOGIC)
November 15, 2023

PROPOSITIONAL CALCULUS (PROPOSITIONAL LOGIC)

The simplest formal (logical) language is the propositional calculus. This considers the logical relationships that hold between complete propositions.
PHILOSOPHICAL BOOKS AND TEXTBOOKS TO GUIDE NOVICE PHILOSOPHY STUDENTS
November 27, 2023

BOOKS TO GUIDE NOVICE PHILOSOPHY STUDENTS

This list is aimed at curating those texts that will both challenge a novice researcher, and continually reward repeated encounters as you develop your philosophical interests.

Books

  • The Art Of War: Complete Text of Sun Tzu’s Classics, Military Strategy History, Ancient Chinese Military Strategist (Deluxe Collection Edition, #1)

    $6.99
  • Existentialism: A Beginner’s Guide (Beginner’s Guides)

    $14.95
  • Meditations: A New Translation (Modern Library (Hardcover))

    $13.29
  • 通透 (Chinese Edition)

    $49.99
  • Daodejing: The Oral Tradition

    $48.95
  • A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

    $5.95
  • Truth as Conceived by Those Who Are Not Professional Philosophers

    $17.51
  • Mindfulness for Beginners: Reclaiming the Present Moment–and Your Life

    $19.50
  • Teaching Yoga: Essential Foundations and Techniques

    $18.89
  • Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind: 50th Anniversary Edition

    $10.39
  • Five Dialogues: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Phaedo

    $9.99
  • Yo Soy: Luz de Vida (Spanish Edition)

    $16.03
  • The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World

    $12.29
  • The Beginner’s Guide to Stoicism: Tools for Emotional Resilience and Positivity

    $12.99
  • Domestic Extremist: A Practical Guide to Winning the Culture War

    $18.79
  • Maxims and Reflections

    $8.99

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Terms & Concepts

N

Naturalism

The theory that everything can be explained in terms of causal claims and facts. https://youtube.com/shorts/UXAxnff4wUw?feature=share
T

Teleological argument

An argument that attempts to prove God’s existence from the uniformity, or apparent design,of nature. Since the universe looks like it has been designed, and that which is designed has…
E

Efficient cause

The primary source of change. In Aristotle, one of four explanations of coming to be. https://youtube.com/shorts/Qt57Qrvh9QU?feature=share
A
Appeal to force or fear (ad baculum)
S
Square of opposition
D
Double effect, doctrine of
E
Epiphenomenalism
Q
Quantified statement
A
Anatta
S
State of nature
P
Prima facie
C
Critical thinking
View All