FORMS OF PHILOSOPHICAL WRITINGTHE ESSAY OF AFFIRMATION
November 20, 2023

THE ESSAY OF AFFIRMATION

The essay of affirmation takes the position I agree. If you want to write an essay agreeing with—affirming—the ideas of another, such as a philosopher, a simple statement of agreement…
LogicPREDICATE CALCULUS (PREDICATE LOGIC)
November 15, 2023

PREDICATE CALCULUS (PREDICATE LOGIC)

The next development of the propositional calculus is the predicate calculus. This considers the logical relationships that hold between predicate expressions, along with the quantifiers ∃x (“there is at least…
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…
CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of PhilosophySKEPTICISM (PYRRHONISM)
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…
Traditional Branches of PhilosophyPhilosophy BranchesEPISTEMOLOGY
December 12, 2023

EPISTEMOLOGY

Epistemology is the study of knowledge, including its nature and its extent, and of justification (that is, whether a belief is formed in a valid way to justify its being…
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.
History Of PhilosophyPOST-KANTIAN PHILOSOPHY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
November 15, 2023

POST-KANTIAN PHILOSOPHY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

Kant’s philosophy continued to dominate throughout the nineteenth century, although there were increasing concerns about the overall coherence of his system; in particular, there was doubt as to whether 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…
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…
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…
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”…
Modern Branches of PhilosophyPhilosophy BranchesPHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE
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…
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…
CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of PhilosophyPHENOMENOLOGY
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…
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…

Books

  • The Conspiracy against the Human Race: A Contrivance of Horror

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  • Dark New World Order. Part 2: The Puppet Masters and their Motives

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  • The Enchiridion

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  • Sad Love: Romance and the Search for Meaning

    $14.79
  • The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times (Deckled Edge)

    $14.39
  • The Ultimate Stoicism Collection: Letters from a Stoic (All 124 Letters), Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, The Enchiridion, Of Peace of Mind, Of Anger, Of Providence, The Discourses of Epictetus, The Golden Sayings of Epictetus, Fragments Attributed to Epictetus, Lives of the Eminent Philosophers: The Stoics, & Marcus Aurelius Biography

    $28.99
  • Sacred Contracts: Awakening Your Divine Potential

    $18.99
  • Philosophy, Literature, and the Dissolution of the Subject: Nietzsche, Musil, Atay (Studies in Philosophy, Culture and Contemporary Society)

    $17.28
  • Los engarces de las sabidurías (Spanish Edition)

    $18.37
  • Israel and the Nations: The Bible, the Rabbis, and Jewish-Gentile Relations (Emunot: Jewish Philosophy and Kabbalah)

    $117.08
  • On the Infinite, the Universe and the Worlds: Five Cosmological Dialogues (Collected Works of Giordano Bruno)

    $17.00
  • The Chomsky-Foucault Debate: On Human Nature

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  • Illuminations: Essays and Reflections

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The Atomos Blog

Philosophy of Law: An IntroductionAtomosPHILOSOPHY OF LAW

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Philosophy of Science: An IntroductionAtomosPHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE

Philosophy of Science: An Introduction

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Aesthetics: An IntroductionAESTHETICSAtomos

Aesthetics: An Introduction

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Epistemology: An IntroductionAtomosEPISTEMOLOGY

Epistemology: An Introduction

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Ethics: An IntroductionAtomosETHICS

Ethics: An Introduction

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Logic: An IntroductionAtomosLOGIC

Logic: An Introduction

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Metaphysics: An IntroductionAtomosMETAPHYSICS

Metaphysics: An Introduction

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Philosophy of History: An IntroductionAtomosPHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY

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Philosophy of Language: An IntroductionAtomosPHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE

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Philosophy of Mind: An IntroductionAtomosPHILOSOPHY OF MIND

Philosophy of Mind: An Introduction

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Environmental Philosophy: An IntroductionAtomosENVIRONMENTAL PHILOSOPHY

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Feminist Philosophy: An IntroductionAtomosFEMINIST PHILOSOPHY

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Atomos EditorAtomos EditorJanuary 10, 2026

Terms & Concepts

C

Correspondence theory of truth

The theory that the truth of a statement is its correspondence to facts or states of affairs. https://youtube.com/shorts/_xvfHR9qmp0?feature=share
A

Atomic sentence

In formal logic, the most basic sentence corresponding to the simplest sentence in ordinary language. An atomic sentence consists of a predicate and the relevant arity. https://youtube.com/shorts/B5RhkwKKk8M?feature=share
E

Enlightenment

(1) The period of intense intellectual development, from roughly the end of the sixteenth century through the end of the eighteenth, on the Continent and Britain. Enlightenment thought is characterized…
N
Necessary truth
M
Minor premise
S
Square of opposition
L
Logical necessity
D
Duty
V
Venn diagram
O
Ordinary language
A
Axiology
I
Idealism
View All