History Of PhilosophyCLASSICAL PHILOSOPHYARISTOTLE
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…
History Of PhilosophyTHE ELEATIC SCHOOL
November 15, 2023

THE ELEATIC SCHOOL

Based in the Ionian colony of Elea (modern-day Velia) in southern Italy, and primarily associated with Parmenides (early fifth century BC) and Melissus of Samos (mid fifth century BC), the…
Writing PhilosophyTHE PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING PROCESS
November 22, 2023

THE PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING PROCESS

Writing is work, and for many of us, writing is hard work. Writing philosophy adds to this labor an element of intimidation. Whether you are writing an expository—explanatory and descriptive—essay…
Philosophy BranchesTraditional Branches of PhilosophyPOLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
December 12, 2023

POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

Political philosophy is at least as old as Plato (428/227 or 424/423-348/347 BC) and is concerned with the nature of the state and, more broadly, with coercive institutions, and their…
MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of PhilosophyMEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY
November 15, 2023

MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY

The Medieval Period is usually dated between the fall of the Western Roman Empire (476)and the beginning of the Renaissance (c. 1300). In terms of philosophy, the period begins inthe…
FORMS OF PHILOSOPHICAL WRITINGTHE PERSONAL ESSAY
November 20, 2023

THE PERSONAL ESSAY

The personal essay is a self-reflective search for meaning. Unlike most philosophical writing, it is not argumentative. Instead, it is exploratory and speculative, often even somewhat confessional. It is typically…
LogicINTUITIONISM
November 15, 2023

INTUITIONISM

One of the most familiar non-classical logics is intuitionism, which, in simple terms, is based upon the rejection of the law of excluded middle: (P ∨ ¬P). There are both…
THE EARLY MODERN PERIODHistory Of PhilosophyLIBERALISM
November 15, 2023

LIBERALISM

A political philosophy whose central claim is that a government’s authority is justified only insofar as it secures the liberty of its subjects, Liberalism is generally traced to John Locke…
NON-WESTERN PHILOSOPHICAL TRADITIONSNON-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…
STRATEGIC WRITING CHOICESWriting PhilosophySTRATEGIC WRITING CHOICES FOR PHILOSOPHY CLASS
November 18, 2023

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…
Writing PhilosophyESSENTIAL WRITING SKILLS
November 21, 2023

ESSENTIAL WRITING SKILLS

Having just walked through the basic process of writing a philosophy paper, we turn now to the essential skillset you should develop and apply not only to the writing of…
WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?PHILOSOPHICAL FILMS AND TV SHOWS
November 24, 2023

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…
Writing PhilosophyGRADING CRITERIA FOR PHILOSOPHY ESSAYS
November 24, 2023

GRADING CRITERIA FOR PHILOSOPHY ESSAYS

The eight skills just listed are so central to philosophical writing that we may count them among the criteria most instructors use in grading essay assignments. Keep these eight skills…
FORMS OF PHILOSOPHICAL WRITINGWriting PhilosophyOTHER CATEGORIZATIONS OF PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING
November 19, 2023

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 of these are: The Expository Paper The Argumentative Paper The…
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

  • Heidegger For Beginners

    $15.21
  • Being and Time

    $4.23
  • Radical Compassion: Learning to Love Yourself and Your World with the Practice of RAIN

    $15.49
  • Tao Te Ching: With Over 150 Photographs by Jane English

    $19.74
  • Meditations (Dover Thrift Editions: Philosophy)

    $5.00
  • How to be a conservative

    $22.00
  • An Introduction to Gödel’s Theorems

    $9.99
  • Radical Love: From Separation to Connection with the Earth, Each Other, and Ourselves

    $12.29
  • Games: Agency As Art (Thinking Art)

    $44.99
  • Socrates: A Man for Our Times

    $25.95
  • Why Is There Suffering?: Pick Your Own Theological Expedition

    $9.99
  • Democracy: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

    $11.95
  • Hegel: Phenomenology and System

    $17.00

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Terms & Concepts

C

Compensatory justice

A theory of justice that requires the restoration of any loss to the person wronged. https://youtube.com/shorts/wpthWV_8OTo?feature=share
H

Hypothetical imperative

That which commands hypothetically, asserted in the form of a conditional claim, as in, “If you want X, you should do Y.” (See also Categorical imperative.) https://youtube.com/shorts/54vdJzdmc1w?feature=share
F

First-order validity

An argument is valid when a sentence is logically true by way of truth-functional connectivedefinitions, identity, and quantifiers. https://youtube.com/shorts/CZnU2xWzcRg?feature=share
E
Extension
R
Relations of ideas
I
Incoherent
A
Analytical consequence
A
Ahimsa
L
Logical operator
D
Demonstration of non-consequence
Z
Zend-Avesta
M
Moral luck
View All