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…
WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?WHAT IS THE “SUBJECT MATTER” OF 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…
NON-WESTERN PHILOSOPHICAL TRADITIONSHistory Of PhilosophyAFRICAN PHILOSOPHY
November 15, 2023

AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY

The earliest indigenous African philosophy to produce written documents emerged during the seventeenth century, especially in Ethiopia. Zera Yacob (1599–1692), whose Hatata (1667) has been compared to René Descartes’ Discourse…
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…
THE EARLY MODERN PERIODHistory Of PhilosophyRATIONALISM
November 15, 2023

RATIONALISM

Rationalism designates a variety of philosophical schools maintaining that reason, as opposed to empirical investigation, is the most important method of acquiring knowledge.
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.
THE EARLY MODERN PERIODHistory Of PhilosophyTRANSCENDENTAL IDEALISM
November 15, 2023

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.
PHILOSOPHICAL BOOKS AND TEXTINTRODUCTORY LOGIC TEXTS
November 27, 2023

INTRODUCTORY LOGIC TEXTS

There are some fairly firm distinctions between critical thinking and formal (symbolic) logic texts. Whereas critical thinking focuses broadly on argumentation, formal logic is the study of the principles of…
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.
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…
FORMS OF PHILOSOPHICAL WRITINGWriting PhilosophyFORMS OF PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING
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 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…
Philosophy BranchesTraditional Branches of PhilosophyPHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION
December 12, 2023

PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION

Many religions distinguish between truths accessible through reason (natural theology), and truths accessible through faith (revealed theology). Both natural and revealed theology raise interesting philosophical questions about these two sources…
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…
PHILOSOPHICAL BOOKS AND TEXTGUIDES TO PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING
November 27, 2023

GUIDES TO PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING

As with developing any skill, learning to write philosophically takes practice. Here are some links to academic sites, along with several style guides, to aid you.

Books

  • Nausea (New Directions Paperbook)

    $14.95
  • What Is Philosophy?

    $20.49
  • Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender

    $12.99
  • Walden (Translated): A 21st Century, Modernized Translation

    $14.89
  • The Dalai Lama’s Cat and the Claw of Attraction

    $15.95
  • Love in the Western World

    $35.15
  • Being and Time: A Revised Edition of the Stambaugh Translation (SUNY series in Contemporary Continental Philosophy)

    $24.95
  • How the World Works: Philosophy: From the Ancient Greeks to great thinkers of modern times (How the World Works, 1)

    $14.99
  • The Mastery of Self: A Toltec Guide to Personal Freedom

    $22.81
  • The Prince (Hackett Classics)

    $8.00
  • Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees: Expanded Edition

    $25.69
  • The History of Sexuality, Vol. 1: An Introduction

    $9.79
  • Wise-Love: Bhakti and the Search for the Soul of Consciousness (The Bhakti Trilogy)

    $12.35

The Atomos Blog

Philosophy of Law: An IntroductionAtomosPHILOSOPHY OF LAW

Philosophy of Law: An Introduction

Atomos EditorAtomos EditorJanuary 10, 2026
Philosophy of Science: An IntroductionAtomosPHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE

Philosophy of Science: An Introduction

Atomos EditorAtomos EditorJanuary 10, 2026
Aesthetics: An IntroductionAESTHETICSAtomos

Aesthetics: An Introduction

Atomos EditorAtomos EditorJanuary 10, 2026
Epistemology: An IntroductionAtomosEPISTEMOLOGY

Epistemology: An Introduction

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Ethics: An IntroductionAtomosETHICS

Ethics: An Introduction

Atomos EditorAtomos EditorJanuary 10, 2026
Logic: An IntroductionAtomosLOGIC

Logic: An Introduction

Atomos EditorAtomos EditorJanuary 10, 2026
Metaphysics: An IntroductionAtomosMETAPHYSICS

Metaphysics: An Introduction

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Philosophy of History: An IntroductionAtomosPHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY

Philosophy of History: An Introduction

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Philosophy of Language: An IntroductionAtomosPHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE

Philosophy of Language: An Introduction

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Philosophy of Mind: An IntroductionAtomosPHILOSOPHY OF MIND

Philosophy of Mind: An Introduction

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Philosophy of Technology: An IntroductionAtomosPHILOSOPHY OF TECHNOLOGY

Philosophy of Technology: An Introduction

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Environmental Philosophy: An IntroductionAtomosENVIRONMENTAL PHILOSOPHY

Environmental Philosophy: An Introduction

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Feminist Philosophy: An IntroductionAtomosFEMINIST PHILOSOPHY

Feminist Philosophy: An Introduction

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Terms & Concepts

I

Inductive argument

An argument from experience; experiential inferences; contrasted with Deductive argument.Inductive arguments do not reflect the guaranteed truth of the conclusion claimed indeductive arguments. Instead, the conclusion is probably true. https://youtube.com/shorts/hU-NIFkS_bQ?feature=share
T

Transcendental argument

An argument in support of a conclusion on the grounds that it provides a necessary prerequisite for some other (uncontroversial) state of affairs. https://youtube.com/shorts/EMSvJ7cKt0w?feature=share
C

Conditional introduction (Conditional proof)

In symbolic logic, a valid inference in a system of truth-functional rules. Conditional introduction is the method of proof whereby a conditional claim is proved by deriving a statement Q…
F
False dichotomy
D
Datum
M
Modus ponens“
S
Strong argument
S
Self-evident
H
Hypothetical imperative
A
Anatta
I
I-proposition
L
Logical consequence
View All