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Logic
November 15, 2023

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…
FORMS OF PHILOSOPHICAL WRITINGWriting Philosophy
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,…
NON-WESTERN PHILOSOPHICAL TRADITIONSHistory Of Philosophy
November 15, 2023

PHILOSOPHIES OF EAST ASIA

The dominant philosophical traditions in this part of the world began in Ancient China from the sixth century to 221 BC, which saw the development of China’s great philosophical movements…
History Of PhilosophyANALYTIC PHILOSOPHY
November 15, 2023

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…
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…
WHAT IS 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…
History Of PhilosophyCLASSICAL PHILOSOPHY
November 15, 2023

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…
Modern Branches of PhilosophyPhilosophy Branches
November 14, 2023

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”…
CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of Philosophy
November 15, 2023

SKEPTICISM (PYRRHONISM)

Pyrrhonian Skepticism was founded by Pyrrho of Elis (c. 360–275 BC), who argued that knowledge is impossible. The Skeptics proposed various arguments for their conclusions, including Platonic doubts about the…
History Of 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…
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 PhilosophyCLASSICAL 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…
Logic
November 15, 2023

BASIC LOGICAL SYMBOLS

¬ one-place logical connective read as “not” or as “is not the case” ~ alternative notation for “not” & two-place logical connective read as “and” ˄ and
Modern Branches of PhilosophyPhilosophy Branches
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…
CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of Philosophy
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…

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Terms & Concepts

S

Strawman

(or Straw Man; gender neutral alternatives: straw person or straw person)An informal fallacy constituted by distorting someone’s position in such a way as to render it unrecognizable and easy to…
C

Conversion by limitation

A two-step inference involving the subalternation from the A-proposition to its corresponding I-proposition and then converting the result. Conversion by limitation is a valid inference only for the A-proposition on…
C

Contradiction

That which is logically incompatible. A statement is self-contradictory when it is necessarily false; a contradiction obtains between two sentences when they cannot be simultaneously true or simultaneously false. https://youtube.com/shorts/WS25vKIYPA8?feature=share
J
Justification
C
Certainty
S
Skepticism
R
Rule utilitarianism
I
Invalid
B
Biconditional introduction
P
Positive right
P
Prisoner’s Dilemma
P
Phronesis
View All