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…
LogicMANY-VALUE LOGICS
November 15, 2023

MANY-VALUE LOGICS

In the classical logics already discussed, the logical connectives are taken to be bivalent—that is, they allow of only two different truth values: true and false. One natural extension to…
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.
NON-WESTERN PHILOSOPHICAL TRADITIONSHistory Of PhilosophyINDIAN PHILOSOPHY
November 15, 2023

INDIAN PHILOSOPHY

Philosophy on the Indian subcontinent between 1000 BC and the early centuries of the first millennium was comprised of six major schools of Hindu philosophy (Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa,…
MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of PhilosophySCHOLASTICISM
November 15, 2023

SCHOLASTICISM

A general term for those philosophers influenced by the medieval rediscovery of classic texts, Scholasticism is broadly characterized by an interest in logic and disputation and is motivated to resolve…
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…
Modern Branches of PhilosophyPhilosophy BranchesPHILOSOPHY OF MATHEMATICS
November 14, 2023

PHILOSOPHY OF MATHEMATICS

The philosophy of mathematics is traditionally concerned with the ontological and epistemological foundations of mathematics. The two questions, of ontology and epistemology, are intimately related, as a satisfactory account of…
FORMS OF PHILOSOPHICAL WRITINGWriting PhilosophyTHE EXPOSITORY PAPER
November 19, 2023

THE EXPOSITORY PAPER

We have already touched on the expository paper, but let’s discuss it briefly here. Look at the adjective expository. It is derived from the noun exposition, which is the noun…
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…
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…
Writing PhilosophyWHAT PHILOSOPHY PROFESSORS WANT FROM STUDENT WRITERS
November 24, 2023

WHAT PHILOSOPHY PROFESSORS WANT FROM STUDENT WRITERS

Some 2,300 years ago, Aristotle introduced the syllogism into the intellectual world. A threeelement formula, it is the elementary building block of syllogistic logic and deductive reasoning. The syllogism combines…
History Of PhilosophyTHE SOPHISTS
November 15, 2023

THE SOPHISTS

The Sophists were not a single school but a professional grouping of largely itinerant teachers of rhetoric, philosophy, and legal argumentation. Their importance lies not in any specific doctrines but…
Modern Branches of PhilosophyPhilosophy BranchesBIOETHICS
November 14, 2023

BIOETHICS

A branch of ethics concerned with the moral and political issues raised by medical science, and with advances in medical technology, bioethics has now become a largely autonomous area of…
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…
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…

Books

  • AFTER THE ECSTASY, THE LAUNDRY: HOW THE HEART GROWS WISE ON THE SPIRITUAL PATH

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  • Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (Penguin Classics)

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  • The Gay Science: or The Joyful Wisdom

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  • On Human Nature

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  • The Vision of the Soul: Truth, Goodness, and Beauty in the Western Tradition

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  • Stoicism: A Stoic Approach To Modern Life

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  • The Metaphysics of Evolution: Evolutionary Theory in Light of First Principles

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  • The Gang of Three: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle (Ancient Wisdom)

    $39.99
  • THE STOIC PATH: Finding Meaning, Virtue, and Serenity in Everyday Life (The Life Mastery Series: Insights for Success, Growth, and Inner Peace)

    $18.99
  • Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings

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  • Philosophies of Islamic Education: Historical Perspectives and Emerging Discourses (Routledge Research in Religion and Education)

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  • Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm

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  • A Secular Age

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Aesthetics: An IntroductionAESTHETICSAtomos

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Ethics: An IntroductionAtomosETHICS

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Logic: An IntroductionAtomosLOGIC

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Terms & Concepts

M

Method

An approach to addressing or solving a problem. https://youtube.com/shorts/rVo8xDtdyZo?feature=share
T

Tautology

A statement that is true in every possible circumstance; that is, it is true on every row of the truth table in the column under the (main) operator. https://youtube.com/shorts/rglZ891k1NA?feature=share
C

Coherence

Fitting together in a logical, orderly fashion. https://youtube.com/shorts/yIxfu3wVcW4?feature=share
D
Duty
A
Argument
D
Dukkha
O
O-proposition
C
Conjunction
E
Efficient cause
Q
Quantifier
S
Standard form
P
Proof
View All