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…
Modern Branches of PhilosophyPhilosophy BranchesHERMENEUTICS
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 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…
Writing PhilosophyWHAT IS GOOD PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING?
November 24, 2023

WHAT IS GOOD PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING?

Writing effectively for a philosophy course does not merely start with the general principles of good writing just outlined, it sets out to show mastery of these principles. It embodies…
History Of PhilosophyANALYTIC PHILOSOPHYLOGICAL POSITIVISM
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…
LogicRELEVANCE LOGICS
November 15, 2023

RELEVANCE LOGICS

A relevance logic is motivated by the idea that the premises of a valid argument must be somehow “relevant” to its conclusion. The idea is motivated by the fact that…
PHILOSOPHICAL BOOKS AND TEXTINTRODUCTORY PHILOSOPHY TEXTS
November 27, 2023

INTRODUCTORY PHILOSOPHY TEXTS

There is no substitute for grappling primary sources. Nevertheless, secondary sources—including scholarly research, literary reviews, historical summaries—are valuable tools. They not only show you how you can begin thinking about…
History Of PhilosophyATOMISM
November 15, 2023

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…
LogicHIGHER-ORDER LOGICS
November 15, 2023

HIGHER-ORDER LOGICS

The language sketched above is better referred to as first-order predicate calculus, as the language only quantifies over (first-order) individuals. A stronger language, second-order predicate calculus, can therefore be constructed…
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…
Writing PhilosophyWHAT IS GOOD WRITING?
November 24, 2023

WHAT IS GOOD WRITING?

What is good music? What is good art? What is good writing? Such questions unleash many opinions. The branch of traditional philosophy called Aesthetics is devoted to answering such questions…
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…
POST-KANTIAN PHILOSOPHYHistory Of PhilosophyHEGELIANISM
November 15, 2023

HEGELIANISM

One common theme in post-Kantian philosophy was an attempt to overcome the remaining divisions between noumena and phenomena, and to reconcile the distinct faculties of sensibility and understanding in to…
CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of PhilosophySTRUCTURALISM
November 15, 2023

STRUCTURALISM

Structuralism refers to research undertaken in the social sciences, predominantly in France, between the 1950s and 1970s, which sought to understand various social phenomena as a “closed system” of elements.
WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?PHILOSOPHY AS METHOD
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…

Books

  • Princeton Readings in Political Thought: Essential Texts from Plato to Populism–Second Edition

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  • Dokkodo: The path I walk is mine alone

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  • The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius (Shambhala Pocket Library)

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  • Metaphysical Disputations III and IV: On Being’s Passions in General and Its Principles and On Transcendental Unity in General (Early Modern Catholic Sources)

    $69.95
  • Pablo Escobar: Beyond Narcos (War on Drugs)

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  • Horns of the Goddess

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  • Autobiography of a Yogi (Self-Realization Fellowship)

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  • The Sacred Books of the East (Classic Reprint)

    $12.80
  • The Myth of Sisyphus (Vintage International)

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  • The Prophet (A Penguin Classics Hardcover)

    $15.49
  • The African Origin of Civilization: Myth or Reality

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  • True Discipleship: Following Our Master To Calvary

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  • Process and Reality (Gifford Lectures Delivered in the University of Edinburgh During the Session 1927-28)

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  • Consciousness Is All: The Magnificent Truth of What You Are

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  • Foucault: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

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  • Parmenides and the Way of Truth

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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

Philosophy StudentPhilosophy Student
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

Philosophy StudentPhilosophy StudentDecember 8, 2025
Rule-Following and Artificial Intelligence: A Kripkean Perspective

Rule-Following and Artificial Intelligence: A Kripkean Perspective

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The Eternal Coexistence of Consciousness and Spacetime: A Philosophical Inquiry

The Eternal Coexistence of Consciousness and Spacetime: A Philosophical Inquiry

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Embracing Contradiction: An In-Depth Analysis of Dialetheism

Embracing Contradiction: An In-Depth Analysis of Dialetheism

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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?”

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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

Philosophy StudentPhilosophy StudentDecember 8, 2025
Meta-Modal Actuality: A Dynamic Framework for Possibility, Actualization, and Causality

Meta-Modal Actuality: A Dynamic Framework for Possibility, Actualization, and Causality

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Killing, Morality, and the Human Condition: A Philosophical Investigation

Killing, Morality, and the Human Condition: A Philosophical Investigation

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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

Philosophy StudentPhilosophy StudentDecember 8, 2025
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

Philosophy StudentPhilosophy StudentDecember 8, 2025
Imagination, Consciousness, and the Nature of the Soul: A Philosophical Inquiry

Imagination, Consciousness, and the Nature of the Soul: A Philosophical Inquiry

Philosophy StudentPhilosophy StudentDecember 6, 2025
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

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Metaphysical Perspectives: A Comparative Analysis of Theism and Atheism

Metaphysical Perspectives: A Comparative Analysis of Theism and Atheism

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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

Philosophy StudentPhilosophy StudentDecember 6, 2025
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

Philosophy StudentPhilosophy StudentDecember 6, 2025
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

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Terms & Concepts

L

Law of contradiction

The formal logic principle that a statement and its negation cannot be simultaneously true. https://youtube.com/shorts/AZOsGLxDrKs?feature=share
L

Law (in society)

That which objectively binds or obligates individuals, regardless of their acceptance of it. https://youtube.com/shorts/f0_driBmwis?feature=share
L

Law of nature

A conditional statement expressing a general regularity (for example, all Fs are Gs) that is considered necessarily true—although philosophers disagree as to whether this is because it captures a metaphysically…
P
Phenomenology
F
First-order logic
D
Disjunct
A
Analytic-synthetic distinction
S
Syllogism
L
Logical contradiction
E
Empirical
D
Demonstration of non-consequence
L
Law of the Excluded Middle
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